


Little Bird

by solohux



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Enemies to Friends, Fluff, Kylo needs to learn that Hux is the way he is for a reason, M/M, No underage, Past Child Abuse, Soft Kylux, and that the two of them aren't so different
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-15 06:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8045419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux/pseuds/solohux
Summary: Hux goes missing and Kylo finds him in a place that's extremely strong with the Dark Side. The consequences of Hux's captivity are nothing like Kylo could have predicted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! ♡ So I made [a few deaged AU posts](http://solohux.tumblr.com/tagged/deaged-au) on tumblr a while back that got more popular than I thought they would so I decided to write a full fic about deaged Hux and Kylo doting on him! ...With twists and turns along the way! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! ♡

General Hux is missing.

From the last recording of his shuttle’s log, he and his group of Stormtroopers had found themselves under attack from an unknown ship on their way to Danchi VII on a political mission, been shot down and forced to crash on a nearby moon.

When Kylo arrives at the site of the ruined shuttle in the middle of a muddy swamp, he finds all ten bodies of the Stormtroopers, each killed by a single, pinpointed shot to their chest but no sign of Hux, no trace that he was even on the shuttle. _Kidnap_ is the conclusion that Kylo’s mind comes to first after he’s assessed the scene, though there seems to be no sign of a struggle, and Kylo knows that Hux wouldn’t have been taken prisoner _quietly_. He would’ve kicked and screamed, bitten and scratched his way out of being captured, so to find the shuttle _and_ the surrounding dusty ground almost _untouched_ is odd.

The next thought to cross Kylo’s mind is _good riddance._

Hux is a _burden_ , an asinine lightweight whose existence is to question Kylo’s choices and bring him down in the most insulting and irritating way possible. A _boy_ who thinks that he’s of importance because of his father’s achievements, because of _favouritism._ The Supreme Leader’s faith in Hux and his abilities is a decision that Kylo doesn’t fully understand but he knows that Hux’s disappearance and Kylo’s indifference towards it may not sit well with his master, not with Project Starkiller so close to finish and its creator _missing._

Kylo huffs angrily. He stands among the bodies of Hux’s troopers, racking his mind of potential criminals who would have the audacity to kidnap him from right under the nose of the First Order, but the list of possible perpetrators is too long; a man like Hux has no shortage of enemies. Kylo doesn’t have any leads, no indication of who might have taken Hux or _where_ he’s been take to.

The cool wind blows gently through Kylo’s robes and chills his skin, the silence piercing his mind sharply. Kylo knows something is terribly wrong; he can _feel_ it, he can almost _hear_ it, as though the Force is screaming at him that something horrendous is happening but its call to him is being silenced. He can’t filter out its message. He’s alone.

With one rage-induced thought, Kylo tears apart the remainder of the shuttle, the metal ripping in half with an almighty screech as he turns and heads back to his own ship, returning to the _Finalizer_ with a conflicted mind. As soon as he’s back on board the grand Star Destroyer, he informs Captain Phasma about Hux’s kidnapping, to which she struggles to keep her professional demeanour.

“I shall dispatch squadrons to scout for him, sir,” she says with a nod of her head and Kylo can feel her concern for his wellbeing rolling off her in uneven waves but he doesn’t comment on it. He supposes Phasma may have known Hux longer than the three years that Kylo has.

“Very well, Captain,” he replies. “Though, my plan is to contact the Supreme Leader to ask for his guidance on what to do regarding the General’s disappearance.”

“You believe it’s a possibility that the Supreme Leader won’t _want_ General Hux to be found?”

Kylo nods. “It may be more effort than he is worth.”

Phasma’s shoulders tense. “ _Regardless_. I shall begin prepping troops to look for him. Inform me of the Supreme Leader’s decision once you’ve spoken to him. _Sir_.”

She says nothing else as she turns and marches back down the corridor, leaving Kylo standing alone. He clenches his fists, the leather of his gloves squeaking underneath the harshness of his grip. He wonders about Phasma’s relationship with Hux, whether there’s something _more_ between them but he quickly dismisses the thought. Hux is cold, _heartless,_ possibly even incapable of loving. Kylo knows that Hux could never truly care about anyone. He’s like a droid, only with an unpredictable mouth and an incapacity to _stop talking_ when ordered to.

But whilst in the audience chamber with the Supreme Leader, Kylo isn’t given the orders he’d wanted to receive and he’s very glad to have his mask on to hide his displeasure at Snoke’s words.

“General Hux is needed for the completion of the weapon,” Snoke says, clenching his fist as though already triumphant. “Ensure his safe return, my boy. We still have use of him.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” Kylo replies, deadpan, resisting the urge to stamp his feet in protest that there are officers who can fill in for Hux, officers who are _scared_ of Kylo that wouldn’t irritate him in the same way that Hux does. Hux has _never_ been scared of him, of standing up to him, of _daring_ to question Kylo’s actions…But Kylo has never once questioned the wishes of his master and he certainly isn’t going to allow Hux to be the reason that he begins to.

The first three days of Kylo’s and Phasma’s searches render nothing of relevance, no sightings, no new bounty claims, _nothing._ It’s a waste of his effort, he thinks. Hux isn’t worth all of this time and effort. If he’s fallen captive to people who sincerely hate the First Order and thus everything Hux stands for, he may even possibly be dead. Kylo huffs, pulling off his helmet as he enters his quarters, tossing it onto his bed, watching it bounce slightly on his mattress. Pulling off his robes one layer at a time until he’s down to just his soft, black leggings, Kylo makes his way to the little meditation chamber adjoining his main room, settling himself down on the little black mat in the centre, the door swishing closed behind him.

The room’s only source of light is a little bulb above him, embedded into the ceiling. Kylo doesn’t need light. He sits with his legs crossed, shifting slightly so he’s comfortable, unknowing of how long he’s going to be sat here. With a slow exhale, he turns his attention to the small candle in front of him, its cream-coloured wax only half melted. He needs the flame to centre him, to give his focus a real object that he can see otherwise his attention is elusive, his meditative state lasting for a pitifully short amount of time. It helps to keep him in reality too, else his visions threaten to consume him until he’s questioning what’s real and what isn’t. It may not be a conventional way of dealing with such problems but Kylo has found that it works for him.

With a wave of his hand, the wick of the candle is set alight, the orange flame flickering gracefully and Kylo closes his eyes.

At first, it’s no different than any other meditation session; his anger and rage being concentrated into one sphere of power, fuelling his feelings, heightening his senses until all he can feel is the Dark Side binding him together like an ancient riddle that’s refusing to be solved. But suddenly, Kylo gives a sharp groan in pain as he feels things shift from a shadowy calm to an ominous discomfort, thrusting him into the depths of a vision.

_‘Get your hands off me!’_

It’s Hux’s voice in his mind, echoing as though Kylo is hearing his clipped tone in the flesh. Flashes of a scene brandish across the edges of his mind’s eye, giving him only small glimpses of things he knows are about to come to pass.

‘ _No, don’t!’_

It strange, Kylo thinks, to hear Hux’s usually-sturdy voice panicking. If he weren’t in a state of meditation, he probably would’ve found it amusing. In his vision, Hux looks like his usual self, only with his uniform dishevelled as though he’s been manhandled, his copper hair ruffled out of its place. Suddenly, Hux is crouched on the floor wearing nothing but his black undergarments, moans of pain coming from his obviously weakened body, but a splash of red paints its way across Kylo’s consciousness before he can see whoever has taken Hux captive. Kylo tenses, watching as the scene becomes less blurred, panning out to an overhead view of a stone temple guarded by tall, leering statues of imposing men in two parallel lines along the dark pathway to the temple’s door. The sky is eerily dark around the temple, lightning striking in the background, and Kylo can almost feel the power swelling in the air around it.

He gasps, his body jolting forwards as though he’s been physically pushed out of his vision. His dark eyes are wide, seemingly unseeing as he focuses himself back into reality, reminding himself that it was a vision: there’s no immediate danger to him.

 _‘Hux is alive,’_ he thinks, breathing heavily. 

Looking down, he sees that the candle has already gone out, smoke rising from the wick like a ghostly figure. Kylo sits back, brushing his hair away from his face.

He knows the place that he was shown in his vision. And Kylo doesn’t like it.

There are places in the Outer Rim that the regular citizen tends to steer away from, places so strong in the Dark Side that it is said that those who can sense the Force can easily be turned. The Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas is one of those places, a Dark Side nexus guarded by beasts to ensure its power is kept away from those who would only abuse such a gift.

And someone is _there_ , keeping Hux captive.

////////////////

The bridge crew of the _Finalizer_ bustle around Kylo as he stands rigidly at the viewport at the head of the ship, gazing down to the large, blue-green planet known as Dromund Kaas, being fully aware of the planet’s dark history with the Sith and the ancient Dark Force Temple that resides there. He tries to stay focussed, knowing that his will and might will need to be strong in order to get past the beastly guards at the door to get to Hux and then destroy whoever is responsible for Hux’s kidnapping, for wasting Kylo’s time.

“Sir?” Lieutenant Mitaka’s voice calls out softly from his station and Kylo turns. “Your shuttle is ready for departure. There’s also a message from Captain Phasma, sir. She says—.”

“Inform her that my decision to go alone is non-negotiable,” Kylo interrupts. “I shall return once I have General Hux.”

Kylo is already striding off the bridge before Mitaka can respond, though Kylo knows that his reply most likely would’ve been a few anxious stutters anyway. What Hux sees in the bashful Lieutenant is beyond Kylo; another of Hux’s illogical decisions. He strides to the hangar, fists clenched, angered that he’s wasting his precious time on rescuing an insufferable man who could be easily replaced by any man or woman on board the _Finalizer._

Clearly, Kylo thinks, his master sees something in Hux that he doesn’t.

The journey to Dromund Kaas is quick, much to Kylo’s liking, though he feels the powerful pull of the Dark Side luring him towards the temple and he knows that he’d be enticed towards it if he weren’t already descending to its surface. Like a lasso around his soul, Kylo can feel the tug of the nexus, dragging him and tempting him with the promise of _more_ power but he keeps his head levelled; _power_ is not what he’s come here for…but maybe one day he’ll return and conquer what he can of the temple. His bloodline would make him worthy of such a claim, he’s sure.

The clouds that Kylo’s command shuttle descends through are riddled with lightning, its thunder rumbling around him as he flies through the thick collection of dark clouds until his ship emerges on the other side, seeing a marshy terrain and the Dark Force Temple rising up in front of him, tall, cutting the blue sky in half. He doesn’t hesitate in leaving his shuttle once he’s landed, feeling an absent shake to his hands, urging him to feel the dark air for himself. Mask on, Kylo exits his shuttle and feels the Force resounding around him, almost _drugging_ his senses, his mind wandering to thoughts of the influence this place could have on him, or indeed, any Force-sensitive who came here.

Kylo straightens his back, his gaze locked on the structure in front of him.

The temple is tall, stretching into the dark, blue sky as lightning crackles around it, its grey stone exterior looking worn from the years of resilience against foes. A truncated pyramid shape, the temple looks almost intimidating, four thick, curved spires rising into the skies from each corner of the roof as though clawing at the clouds. On top of a grand, stone ledge high above the entranceway sits a cuboid-shaped rock, ancient lettering running down its centre. A warning, Kylo supposes, though he can’t read the writing and approaches regardless, knowing that he’s strong enough with the Dark Side of the Force to be able to handle whatever awaits him, whatever is holding Hux against his will.

Kylo strides with a confident step down the pathway overlooked by dark statues shaped like normal humanoid men but their eyes seemingly follow him as he gets closer to the steps at the end of the walkway, illuminated by two braziers holding blazing blue flames. There’s a significant breeze around him though it isn’t cold; it’s humid, _sticky_ even. Kylo is glad that every inch of his skin is covered. He imagines it’d feel uncomfortable.  

His lightsaber feels heavy on his hip as he senses a flicker in the Force, a fading aura of a living being. Kylo lifts his hand, his fingers twitching as he tries to get a better feeling of what death is lingering around. He suddenly hears a low, whimpering sound accompanied by ragged, growled breaths and Kylo gets the feeling that one of the supposed beastly _guards_ of the temple hasn’t been properly taken care of. As he edges closer to the doorway, he sees the prone, dark figures of hound-like creatures sprawled across the ground, all dead from wounds he cannot see, save for one of them, who clutches onto its life with sharp breaths. The light from the braziers makes the creature’s sleek black skin look shiny, their long bodies, pointed snouts and whip-like tails making them an easy species to recognise. They’re a breek of Vornskr, Kylo thinks; canine animals who used the Force to hunt, making them a worthy guard for such a sacred temple.

 _‘Or rather, unworthy,’_ Kylo thinks, stepping over one of the creatures.

The one still alive is close to death, its chest heaving for more air, for more time, but Kylo knows that it’s too late to save it. It’s by far the largest Vornskr of the pack, likely the strongest too. He gives it a silent nod before he waves his hand in front of him and snaps its neck, sending it to whatever afterlife awaits such a beast. As he moves to step around it, he notes that the claws on its right paw are bloodied, a dark shade of red liquid staining its white claws. He turns for a moment, noting that the claws of the other beasts are clean. He wonders whether that’s why this one was left to die slowly; because it managed to strike whoever was coming through here _with Hux._

Shaking off the curiosity to focus on his mission at hand, Kylo steps through the rectangular doorway and, ironically, into the light. Stretching out with purely the Dark Side, he finds no trace of _other_ Force-sensitive being here; no other powerful mind to latch onto to deduce the identity of Hux’s kidnapper. It takes a few moments for his eyes to adjust, light from the moon filtering in from the crevices in the ceiling, fire burning on the two grand cartwheel chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. He notes two dead Ysalamiris on the ground near the doorway, supposing that’s how the intruder managed to successfully get past the infamously-deadly Vornskrs. The main chamber of the temple is massive though mostly empty, save for a cream-coloured altar in the centre, a beam of light cascading down from a gap in the roof and onto the pale body atop the altar.

Even before Kylo has stepped close to him, he can see that Hux’s lithe body is trembling.  

Just like in Kylo’s vision, Hux has been stripped of his uniform, left only in his black underwear, lying flat on his back on the cold, stone shrine. Looking right and then left, Kylo sees nothing, _hears_ nothing, but he stays alert as he takes soft steps towards Hux, feeling his senses heightened as a result of the air _dripping_ with the Dark Side. Kylo towers over Hux, sensing his unconsciousness before he sees Hux’s closed eyes. Despite his complexion _usually_ looking like porcelain, there’s an odd paleness to Hux’s skin, a small blush on his cheeks as though a fever is attempting to take hold of him. The oddest thing, Kylo notes, isn’t Hux’s trembling or his reddening cheeks; it’s the red paint that’s been etched carefully onto his skin. Three interlocking triangles adorn his chest, painted almost expertly in the centre of his rib cage. Across his stomach, 5 differently-shaped thin lines stain his pale skin and Kylo vaguely recognises the scribbles as an old Sith language, feeling that the sharp curves of the lettering make it unique though he can’t begin to guess what it says.

Pulling off one of his gloves, Kylo presses the back of his hand to Hux’s forehead, feeling the heat radiating off of his skin. It’s odd, Kylo thinks, to see Hux in such a vulnerable way. Has Hux always been so _thin_? His shoulders are borderline scrawny, _embarrassingly so_ for a man of his position, Kylo thinks, stifling a chuckle. No wonder Hux keeps his greatcoat on for his appearances in front of his crew; they’d _laugh_ at him if they could see how small he is, how they’ve placed their faith in a leader who looks like he’d be blown over by a strong gust of wind. Kylo makes a mental note to add it to the growing list of insults he has to use against Hux in the heat of one of their arguments, where they clash over things that Kylo can’t even remember.

He moves his hand to Hux’s cheek, finding the same alarming warmth. The touch elicits a small moan from Hux as he stirs slightly, though his eyes don’t open, his back arching slightly off the cold stone as though something invisible is causing him distress, something _more_ than the fever. Tugging his glove back on, he exhales, the vocoder in his helmet distorting the sound of his breath into a ragged wheeze. Hux seemingly shifts at the sound, his head turning away from Kylo, his fingers attempting to clench into a fist. Kylo frowns but knows that time is of the essence; Hux doesn’t look as though he could fight his way out of a paper bag so Kylo has a strong feeling that the _inside_ of his body is as weak as the outside.

With more grace than he knows Hux deserves, Kylo slides his hands underneath Hux’s shoulder blades and another under his knees, lifting him with great ease into his arms. Kylo looks down for a moment, feeling _odd,_ chastising himself for thinking of Hux as anything but the ruthless General who’d step on anyone to get what he wanted, Kylo firmly included.

But Kylo can’t shake the sense of foreboding that’s surrounding them as he carries Hux out of the temple and back to his shuttle, the sky dark and the bright moon high in the sky.

Whether it’s the fever burning its way through Hux’s body or the strange, haunting aura around them, something is stirring Kylo’s senses, putting him on the very edge of nervousness.

Something is frightfully amiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want the first chapter to get too long so I decided to cut it off here. I love foreshadowing too much and knew I'd get carried away if I went on for any longer! But yeah, I hope you liked the beginning and the actual deaged stuff will come in the next chapter...I needed to set the plot up in this chapter! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	2. Chapter 2

Despite his strong desire to abandon Hux in the medical wing as soon as they’re back on the _Finalizer_ , Kylo lingers around, his black-clad figure a stark contrast to the pristine white of the medics’ uniforms. He stands in the corner of Hux’s assigned room, watching as personnel shuffle around Hux’s unconscious body, cleaning his skin of the red paint though not before Kylo has memorised the lettering and the triangular pattern on his chest, wanting to know the _exact_ translation of the words so he can begin to piece together what sort of ritual occurred in the temple. It’d be ideal if Hux _woke up_ and told Kylo about the person who took him, but Kylo knows that Hux is going to be his usual unhelpful self and stay unconscious.

“Commander?” One of the male medics takes tentative steps towards Kylo, datapad clutched tightly between his two hands. “W-we have updates on the General’s status.”

Kylo nods once, indicating for the man to continue. The medic pushes his dark-framed glasses up his freckled nose, his chubby hand shaking. Kylo rolls his eyes.

“General Hux is in good health and will make a full recovery,” he says. “The bruising he sustained in his absence has been successfully treated and his fever is under control.”

“When will he wake?” Kylo asks, glancing over the medic’s shoulder to Hux, seeing his skin totally free of paint though there’s still a tremble to his body, a strange aura surrounding him that Kylo’s senses can’t penetrate. He flexes his hand, remembering the warmness of Hux’s cheek underneath the skin of his palm. 

“It’s difficult to say,” the medic replies, looking down at his datapad for a moment. “His fever isn’t strong enough to be keeping him unconscious but we’re unable to find another reason as to why he hasn’t awoken yet but he’s showed no signs of deterioration, which is promising.”

“Inform me as soon as he as wakes up,” Kylo says, knowing that the sooner he can interrogate Hux about his kidnapper, the sooner he can get back to his more important missions.

He sweeps past the medic and towards the door, giving one last look to Hux before he leaves. He’s never seen Hux _asleep_ before…have his features always looked so youthful? Kylo shrugs off the question with a roll of his shoulders.

‘ _More trouble than he’s worth,’_ Kylo thinks, snarling underneath his mask, knowing that Hux will massively be in his debt when he wakes up. And Kylo is going to make sure he knows it.

//////////////

After reporting news of his successful rescue of General Hux to the Supreme Leader, Kylo retires back to his quarters, wanting to shed himself of his heavy robes and seek sleep. There’s been no word sent to him concerning Hux’s health so Kylo presumes that he’s still unconscious, much to Kylo’s impatience.

As soon as the door to his rooms closes, Kylo pulls off his tunic and undershirt, sighing in relief to have his heavy clothes off him. He feels like the strange, dark ambience in the temple has somehow clung to the material of his clothes, following him around like some sort of reaper. It’s a power he doesn’t recognise and, having found no answers through the Force, he knows he’ll have to conduct the research for himself.

Leaving his dirty clothes in a pile on the floor, Kylo strides to one of the small cabinets near his couch, pulling out a piece of old parchment paper and a pen, recalling the symbols that had been etched onto Hux’s skin. He draws them carefully, the blank ink of the pen making neat lines on the parchment. Even in front of him in dark ink, Kylo still doesn’t recognise the word but he has faith in his skills that he’ll be able to find a translation somehow.

                                                                                     

He sets the parchment aside on his small table, knowing that he’s unable to work when he’s so tired, when his mind is in need of a rest. Besides, he isn’t in a rush to find Hux’s captor; Hux would likely thank the person if it were Kylo who’d been kidnapped instead, giving them advice on how to torture him slowly. Being of a simple mind, Kylo is sure Hux has an ignorance towards Force users, a disregard for their unnatural power, their views of how everything in the galaxy is joined together by an invisible entity. Kylo smirks; he’s sure that Hux is merely _jealous_.

After showering and changing into his sleeping attire—a black pair of loose trousers and a bare chest—Kylo climbs into bed, flopping down onto the matrass with as much grace as a rancor. He lies on his stomach and stretches his legs out as he yawns, trying to concentrate on anything but the lingering itch that’s telling him to go and see Hux. He ignores it, feeling as though he’s done enough for Hux today; he needs time to himself now to restore his strength, feeling as though being within the nexus on Dromund Kaas has impacted on his own health, but he’s unable to tell whether it’s a positive or a negative impact. He feels tired, though at the same time, feels as though he could conquer anything. As his thoughts of Hux float away, Kylo’s mind lingers on thoughts of power, of _immortal power,_ and he drifts off into a deep sleep.

The sound of his comlink buzzing is what awakens Kylo very late the next cycle, vibrating obnoxiously in one of the cabinets on the other side of the room. Kylo groans. He hates the thing but Hux insists that he has one for emergencies, ignoring Kylo’s insistence that he can _sense_ true emergencies.

He ignores it.

He looks at the chronometer on the bedside table, seeing that it’s been almost thirteen hours since he first fell asleep and the cycle on board the ship is more. He pushes aside the slight worry that he’s slept that long and putting it down to exhaustion, he rolls over, lying flat on his stomach, stretching his arms underneath the pillows and closes his eyes. He doesn’t appreciate being disturbed and _especially_ not by one of Hux’s lackeys. The buzzing sound eventually stops and Kylo smirks, calling it a small victory.

Before sleep has the chance to reclaim him, the comlink vibrates again and Kylo groans, burying his face in his pillow. Pulling one hand out from underneath the sheets, Kylo gives it a slight wave and the cabinet opens, the little device floating out and into his waiting palm.

“What is it?” He says grouchily through gritted teeth, his eyes still closed.

“Sir? It’s Lieutenant Mitaka. M-my sincerest apologies for disturbing you but the medics don’t know what else to do—”

“Get to the point, Lieutenant,” Kylo snarls, feeling less tolerant than usual.

“Y-yes, of course, sir. It’s General Hux. He’s…well, he awoke not so long ago in a panic, disorientated. His fever cleared sometime in the night so the medics have ruled that out as the reason for his odd actions. He’s since fled the medical wing and we’re…unable to locate him.”

Kylo finally opens his eyes, resisting the urge to march down to the medical wing and throttle the staff for being so incompetent.

“And what do they want _me_ to do about it?” Kylo asks.

“They…thought you’d be able to find him, sir. Calm him down, seeing as their efforts to do so only caused him more distress,” Mitaka says, his sentence sounding more like a question, wondering whether Kylo would agree to play hide-and-seek with their General.

Kylo huffs, supposing he’ll merely add it to the ever-growing list of things that Hux will be indebted to him for.

“Fine. Inform medical to prep an assessment room. I’ll escort him back once I’ve found him,” Kylo says, switching the comlink off before Mitaka has the chance to reply.

It takes Kylo another three minutes to get out of the bed, leaving the sheets in disarray as he dresses himself in clean robes, his helmet staring idly at him from its place on a stand across the other side of the room. He stares back, debating whether to put it on, remembering how Hux had reacted oddly to the sound of his distorted breathing. Hux has seen Kylo without his mask before but many members of the crew _have not_ and Kylo likes to amuse himself by listening to their ridiculous chatter about his appearance. He decides to put the mask on.

With his heavy boots echoing along the corridors, Kylo strides in big steps towards Hux’s quarters, presuming that this is the most logical place to start his search for Hux, knowing that the General, in the midst of a panic, would flee to his own private space for safety, like a coward.

To Kylo’s dismay, the door to Hux’s quarters isn’t locked as it swishes open invitingly when he steps in front of it. Underneath his mask, he raises his eyebrows in surprise, recalling the previous times where he’d been forced to threaten the rip the door from the frame to get Hux to open it. With restrained caution, Kylo steps into Hux’s quarters, looking around for him.

“Hux?” Kylo calls out in an impatient tone, seeing that the room is untouched, likely to be in exactly the same way as Hux left it before his mission and subsequent kidnapping.

There’s no reply and Kylo huffs, resisting the urge to destroy everything in the room just as an added punishment for Hux wasting his time. He turns on his heel to leave but a small rustling sound catches his attention. Kylo turns back around, looking to the bed where the sound came from.

A tiny fluff of copper hair peeps over the side of the bed, gently rising until Kylo can see a pair of soft, green eyes looking at him with an innocent fear. Kylo’s mouth falls marginally agape, his heart pounding wildly in his chest and mind reeling in bewilderment at the boy in front of him. There shouldn’t be any children on the _Finalizer_ and especially not in the General’s private quarters.

“Who are you?” The boy’s timid voice asks, his accent clipped, his tone gentle. His small hands rise to grip the dark sheets of the bed. “Where am I? Where’s my father?”

“Your…?” Kylo frowns. He knows what conclusion is mind is forcing him to but he won’t believe it. Hux has suddenly gone missing and small, red-haired _boy_ appears in Hux’s room? Coincidence? Kylo knows too well that the galaxy is rarely so lazy. But, this boy _cannot_ be Hux. “How did you get in here?”

The boy stands up to his full height, which isn’t very tall, and Kylo takes a staggered step backwards. He looks incredibly young; no older than 5 standard years. His face is thin though his cheeks are quite chubby, characteristically so for a boy of his age. To Kylo’s eyes, the boy’s hair is a few shades lighter than Hux’s and _thicker_ , still short, though strands stick out as though attempting to break free of the straight style that it’s been forced into. Kylo even wonders whether the boy’s hair is naturally _curly_ , gelled down to give him a more uniform appearance. Freckles dot themselves over the boy’s nose and cascade across his pale cheeks. His grey shirt and black trousers are slightly baggy on him, and Kylo wonders where he even got the clothes from, but suddenly remembers that those clothes are _identical_ to Hux’s sleeping attire. The boy is thin, _too thin,_ Kylo thinks…just like Hux.

But this is impossible. General Hux can’t be this _boy_.

“I woke up in here,” the boy says, tugging shyly at the hem of his grey shirt. “I think I’m lost.”

‘ _So am I,’_ Kylo thinks, rubbing his fingers against the palm of his hand, trying to get his head around the situation.

“What’s your name?” Kylo asks, watching as the boy flinches at the distorted tone of his voice through his mask.

The boy hesitates. “My father said I shouldn’t tell people my name.”

At first, Kylo wants to ask _why_ but he supposes, if this boy is _somehow_ Hux, then Brendol Hux would’ve wanted to keep his son safe by keeping his name a secret. Kylo doesn’t know much about Hux’s father, only that he raised Hux for most of his life, taught him everything he knows.

“You can tell me.” Kylo kneels down, presuming that the _small_ boy feels intimidated by his height. Earning the boy’s trust is key to finding out his identity. “I can help you.”

The boy seems to shiver, his lip quivering as though torn between running _to_ or _from_ Kylo, the strange man in the mask who says he can help.

“Armitage,” the boy says, looking up at Kylo with his big, green eyes. “My name is Armitage. Hux.”

Kylo knows there are very few people who are aware of Hux’s first name. He _hates_ it, though Kylo isn’t entirely sure of the reason why. He’s never bothered to ask, but Kylo would never have guessed that Hux would have been such a timid, little boy.

“Armitage,” Kylo repeats, the name feeling odd in his mouth, a totally unfamiliar sound. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Armitage’s gaze drops to the floor for a moment, his hands twisting the hem of his shirt.

“I-I was with my father on a ship in space. He said we were going somewhere important. And…and…nothing else. I was sleeping and then I was here,” Armitage explains, nodding his head as he speaks, his copper hair bouncing slightly.

Kylo doesn’t know what to say, or _do,_ for that matter. He’s almost certain that whatever ritual was performed on Hux in the temple has caused _this._ But Kylo wants proof, _hard_ proof.

“I’ll get you home,” Kylo says, knowing that he’ll have to earn the boy’s trust. “But you have to come with me first.”

Armitage hesitates again but eventually steps around the bed to stand in front of Kylo, his shoulders hunched inwards shyly.

“O-okay,” the boy says, looking up at Kylo’s mask with a slight terror in his eyes.

Kylo stands up abruptly, startling Armitage a little, and turns to the door, striding out and down the corridor with heavy steps, heading towards the medical wing. The Force works in mysterious ways, changing things in ways not meant to be understood by mortals but Kylo knows that there’s more at work here than the Force’s doing. Someone has _caused_ this to happen to Hux, and Kylo wants to find out who. And _why._

After a few moments, Kylo glances back over his shoulder to check on the boy, only to see him toddling way behind him, his bare feet making a gentle pitter-patter sound on the cold floor.

“M’sorry,” Armitage says, out of breath when he eventually catches up to Kylo. “I’m not fast like you.”

Kylo sighs, dropping his tense shoulders for a moment. He’s beginning to doubt himself; this child can’t be Hux. Hux is _ruthless_ , untameable. The boy is too jittery, too _quiet_ to be the child that grows up into _General_ Hux. Having very little patience to begin with, Kylo feels the last of it slip away as he looks down at Armitage.

“Come here,” he says, bending down to scoop the boy up, settling him on his hip, using his arm to support the boy’s weight. Armitage is even lighter than he looks, though he clings onto Kylo as though his life depends on it, his little fingers clutching onto Kylo’s robes as they head towards medbay.

Thankfully, the corridors are seemingly empty, Kylo choosing his route carefully as to avoid any attention. He supposes the sudden _disappearance_ of General Hux and the _appearance_ of this little red-haired boy may make even the dopiest of officers connect the dots. He does, however, pass a group of patrolling Stormtroopers, and Kylo curses his luck, wiping their minds of what they’ve just seen with a wave of his hand to ensure his fierce reputation is kept wholly intact. To his dismay, Armitage copies his gesture with a slight smile, waving his little hand in the air exactly like Kylo has just done.

Kylo represses the urge to smile.

As soon as he steps foot in the medical wing, Kylo strides past all of the on-hand personnel to the empty assessment room that he’d previously asked to be prepared once he’d found _General_ Hux. He takes Armitage off his hip and settles him onto the bed, noting how dwarfed the boy is by the size of the room. He looks _tiny._

“Stay here. I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t touch anything,” Kylo says. The boy nods, sitting perfectly still on the bed, his hands folded in his lap as though it’s second nature to him.

Kylo leaves and goes to the main terminal to speak with the head medic, a relatively young woman with her brown hair tied back in a bun at the nape of her neck.

“I require a private word. Immediately,” Kylo orders, moving to stand outside Armitage’s room. The medic follows. “I need…an identity test.”

“Of course, sir. On who?” The medic asks, looking down at her datapad.

“On…a boy,” Kylo says, knowing his cryptic response is less than helpful. Instead of blabbering on, he decides to simply open the door and show her. Little Armitage is exactly where Kylo left him, legs dangling over the edge of the bed, his hands in his lap, his copper hair ruffled messily.

Kylo and the medic step inside. Even just skimming the edge of the medic’s mind, Kylo can sense that she thinks the boy is his son.

“And…which identity are you testing for exactly, sir?” She asks with a frown.

“General Hux.” Kylo answers without hesitation, supposing that it’s better just to say it rather than try and sugar-coat it. The medic looks at him as though he’s losing his mind. Kylo doesn’t blame her; the same thing has crossed his own mind too.

“… _General Hux,_ sir?” The medic looks to the boy and then back to Kylo. “I’m afraid I don’t follow…”

“I’m _asking_ you to perform an identity test to either confirm or deny whether this child has the exact same DNA as General Hux. If you are failing to understand my instructions, doctor, then I question your ability to lead this department.” Kylo leers down at her.

“Yes, sir. My apologies, sir,” she says, nodding rather frantically at him. “I’ll fetch the necessary tools—“

Before she leaves, Kylo places his hand on the doorframe, cutting off her exit. He breathes heavily, leaning into her, his tone sharp and piercing.

“One more thing,” he says. “Anything that I’ve said, anything that is going to be found from the test is not to be repeated outside of these four walls or else the consequences shall be more painful than you can imagine. Is that clear?”

She swallows hard. “Y-yes, sir. Not a word, I swear,” the medic says, though Kylo knows that she likely wouldn’t have dared repeat anything anyway but scare-tactics have always suited him and his _demeanour_. It gets him what he wants.

He turns his head slowly, realising that Armitage has witnessed his little outburst at the medic. The boy seems to be trembling slightly, his fingers grasping at the material of his trousers, his eyes wide as he stares as Kylo as though he’s terrified, as though he doesn’t believe that he’s a man and not a monster like his entire appearance suggests.

“I don’t like it here,” Armitage says, his voice shaking a little, like he’s on the verge of tears.

Kylo feels a sharp pang of anxiety fill his chest, spreading like wildfire through his bones, sending his mind back to a place he’s avoiding visiting for years.

_“I don’t like it here,” Ben says, looking up through the gaps of his dark, tousled hair at his mother, his eyes begging her not to go._

_“You’ll be fine, Ben. Uncle Luke will take care of you,” she replies, combing his hair out of his eyes. She’s nagged him to cut it but Ben, being in his ‘rebellious teenager stage’ as Han liked to call it, has constantly refused. “This will help you. The Force is strong with you. Luke can help you control it. I promise you, you’ll be fine.”_

_She leans forward, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead, and Ben feels tears brimming in his eyes though he keeps his head down. Tears have never been enough to make his parents understand. No one understands. He wants her to stay; he doesn’t want to be alone. He just wants his mother to take him **home.**_

Kylo says nothing, finding words trapped in his throat. He’s forgotten that, though this may be General Hux, it’s not _General_ Hux; it’s _Armitage,_ six years old with barely any life experience, never mind any _military_ experience that likely hardened him, helped him become resilient towards Kylo’s anger. Armitage is a _child_ , a mere _boy,_ not a man trapped in a child’s body. He’s woken in a strange place, thinking he’s been taken away from his home and the first person he meets is a leering creature in a mask who says he can help. Kylo suppresses a shiver.

Armitage is _alone. Afraid._

Kylo knows more than anyone what that feels like.

“H-here we are, sir,” the medic’s voice interrupts Kylo’s thoughts, his soft stare at the boy that Armitage can’t see him giving, hidden by his mask.

Kylo turns, seeing a small identity-probe droid following the medic, round in shape, hovering a metre or so above the floor. It’s black, with a single photo receptor and radar eye on its front, flashing buttons on its body. A thin needle jabs out from its centre underneath its eye, ready to take a blood sample to begin its identity test. Kylo looks back at Armitage, seeing his watery eyes focussing on the needle as he instinctively shuffles back, his expression though he’s fearing for his life.

“There’s been a change of plan,” Kylo says, stepping closer to the bed, cutting off the droid’s path to the boy. “This won’t be necessary. I have new orders for you.”

The medic raises her eyebrows, the droid beeping in a confused manner. “Sir?”

“I need you to find suitable clothing for him. Whether that be in storage on board the ship or find someone to go planet-side, I don’t care. Send them to my quarters. As quickly as possible,” he says, attempting to keep a softer tone to his voice, not wanting to cause any more distress to Armitage that he’s already feeling, projecting his anxieties onto Kylo. The medic nods frantically. He turns to look at Armitage, who’s still seemingly focusing on the droid’s needle. “Come on. We’re leaving.”

For a second, Kylo sees a flicker of hesitation in Armitage’s expression, his little freckled nose scrunching in confusion but, after clearly preferring to leave with the masked man than be hurt by the needle, he hops off the bed and follows Kylo out of the room. Keeping his strides small and slow, Kylo walks back to Hux’s quarters with little Armitage trotting behind him, and Kylo can almost sense his happiness at being out of the medical wing. Funny, Kylo thinks; he knows Hux has a distaste for the medical wing also.

The door to Hux’s quarters slides open and Kylo enters, making sure that Armitage is in before he closes the door. The silence around them is making Kylo incredibly uncomfortable, still finding it difficult to believe that Hux has been turned back into this child, this boy who trembles at loud voices and sharp objects, who looks afraid of everything.

“What’s gonna happen to me?” Armitage asks, looking up at Kylo, still visibly afraid of his mask.

“I don’t know,” Kylo says, realising seconds later that that probably wasn’t an ideal answer to give him. “But you’ll be safe. And you have to stay in here. Those are the rules.”

“O-okay, sir,” Armitage says with a slight nod.

Kylo frowns. He feels _awkward_. He has no idea how to look after a child, never mind a child who grows up to be his rival, who grows up to despise Kylo more than anyone in the galaxy. He rolls his shoulders and turns to leave.

The boy yawns.

“You should sleep,” Kylo says, undecided as to whether Armitage is too old for naps.

“I’m not sleepy,” Armitage replies, rubbing his eyes.

“But you just yawned.” Kylo rolls his eyes, knowing that if little Armitage is anything like _Hux_ then arguing is futile. “Get into bed.”

Surprisingly, Armitage does as he’s told, hopping over towards Hux’s lavish and large bed, though he struggles to climb onto its high frame, his hands tugging at the sheets to help to pull himself up. With a wave of his hand, Kylo uses the Force to aid Armitage onto the bed, lifting him into the air and onto the soft mattress. He sits down with his legs crossed, looking to Kylo, like a cadet awaiting orders form their superior.

“…Go to sleep,” Kylo says rigidly with a nod and turns to leave, his hand reaching for the light switch.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Armitage says, his voice shaking, his tone begging for Kylo not to go. The boy’s voice becomes quieter as though debating whether he should say what he feels. “I’m scared.”

Kylo sighs. “You’re a big boy. You don’t need me to stay with you.”

“I don’t like to sleep alone.” Armitage sits up on the bed, wanting to scuttle forward to follow Kylo to wherever he’s going. Kylo halts, shoulders sagging. Armitage stares at the back of his head. “My nanny stays with me when I’m at home. Why do I have to—”

“ _Because I said so!”_ Kylo’s voice echoes loudly across the room as he feels the final remnants of his patience disappear, a few of Hux’s ornaments rattle on the shelves from the ferocity of his tone. His fists clench and his form leers over towards where Armitage sits on the bed as though he’s yelling at defective troopers, not a small boy. Almost as soon as Kylo shouts, Armitage shuffles back on the bed, bringing his knees up to his chest as he gets as close to the headboard as he can, his eyes wide and teary, looking genuinely afraid of the monster in front of him. He buries his head against his knees, hiding away from everything. The boy’s lip trembles as he tries to curl in on himself and Kylo can feel the fear rolling off him in vicious waves, his desire to get as far away from Kylo as possible.

But there’s something else.

Underneath Armitage’s thoughts of fear, there’s an echoing phrase being repeated throughout his mind, and Kylo’s heart clenches.

‘ _Not again, not again,’_ Armitage thinks loudly, his body trembling with fear of Kylo’s voice or what Kylo is going to do _next,_ Kylo isn’t sure. ‘ _Not like Father. Sorry. Please.’_

Kylo’s heart thunders in his chest, his knees feeling weak.

‘ _Not again, not again,’ Kylo thinks, his robes still too big for his body, cowering in front of his new master. Snoke stares down at him with vengeful eyes at his new apprentice. Kylo waits for his punishment for his failed mission, his third failure in a row. He’s still learning, still finding it difficult to shed Ben Solo and act like Kylo Ren. The Dark is new to him, everything is new to him. And he’s so alone. ‘I’m sorry. Master. Please. Not again.’_

With a slight tremble to his own hands, Kylo lifts his hands to his helmet and unclasps it, feeling as though Armitage has had enough of being scared of the strange man in the mask. He lifts his helmet away from his head, wanting to prove that he’s not a _monster;_ he’s a _man_ with soft brown eyes and messy hair. Without his mask, Kylo knows he doesn’t look intimidating at all; it’s _part_ of the reason why he wears it as often as he does.

“I’m sorry,” Kylo says, setting his helmet down on the floor at the foot of the bed so Armitage can’t see it. He sits down on the side of the bed very gingerly, treating the boy as though he’s a timid little creature who will spook and bolt if Kylo is too loud or too bold. “It’s okay. I won’t do that again. I promise.”

Armitage looks up slowly when he obviously notes that Kylo’s voice sounds different without his mask, softer and less robotic. Armitage’s copper hair shines in the low light of the room; it’s messy, his fringe ruffled from where he’s had his head buried in his arms. His green eyes are still watery but become less afraid when he sees Kylo without his mask for the first time, when he sees that the man who’d yelled at him a moment ago isn’t scary at all. Armitage sits up properly, his soft gaze locked on Kylo’s face. He scoots forward, crawling across the bed until he’s kneeling next to Kylo, the top of his grey shirt a little damp from his tears. He lifts his hands and Kylo frowns, though he feels glad that Armitage’s fear has transformed into an innocent curiosity.

Armitage flattens his palms on Kylo’s cheeks as though wanting to check that he’s real.

“I like this face better than the other one,” Armitage says with a nod, patting his hands against Kylo’s cheeks.

It’s strange, Kylo thinks, that _Hux_ is doing this. If anyone else had attempted to pat his cheeks, Kylo is sure that person would’ve lost their hands within a second of even _thinking_ about touching him in such a manner, yet here he is, little _Hux_ petting him in the most innocent of ways.

“Armitage,” Kylo says, amazed that the boy has found such a fascination with his cheeks. “It’s sleep time.”

The boy nods, moving back on the bed and climbing under the covers, his tiny frame looking even smaller by the large size of Hux’s bed. He looks at Kylo, a little afraid that he’s going to be left alone.

“I’ll stay,” Kylo says. “Until you fall asleep.”

Armitage gives him a small smile in return and Kylo realises that this is the first time he’s seen Hux smile, and he finds himself wondering what _age_ Hux _stopped_ smiling…or _what_ made him stop.

“What’s your name?” Armitage asks, his tone playful as though talking to a friend rather than a stranger.

Kylo hesitates, though he isn’t sure why. Hux has _always_ called him ‘Ren’, by his title rather than his chosen name…Any iteration of Hux calling him anything _but_ ‘Ren’ would be odd, Kylo decided.

“Ren,” he says.

“ _Ren_ ,” Armitage echoes, having a little trouble wrapping his tongue around the pronunciation of the ‘R’ but Kylo is sure it’s just because the boy is tired, obviously overwhelmed by whatever transformation his body has gone through to regress back to this age. “I’m Armitage.”

Kylo stifles a chuckle. “I know.”

Armitage may grow up into the ruthless and unforgiving General Hux who despises Kylo, who has a seemingly undying hatred for him, but for now, little Armitage is in desperate need of Kylo’s help…and in desperate need of a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prepare yourself for awkward Kylo and adorable Armitage...and more on the ritual that cause the age regression!
> 
> thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	3. Chapter 3

Kylo doesn’t sleep at all that night.

Even after Armitage _has_ fallen asleep, Kylo stays perched on the bed, his mind locked in a state of deep thought about what he should do next about the boy. He supposes he should contact the Supreme Leader to ask for guidance on how to begin to look for a way to change Hux back to his rightful age. After all, whatever dark magic was used on Hux, the Supreme Leader may be familiar with and be able to shed some light on what Kylo can do to reverse the ritual. He remembers the piece of parchment in his quarters, the one that he’d used to note down the ominous symbols that’d been etched into Hux’s skin when Kylo had found him unconscious, his lithe body trembling upon the altar in the Dark Temple. Defining the symbols is at the centre of this mystery, Kylo thinks, but as he looks to Armitage’s sleeping face, Kylo realises that he can’t take time off-ship to research their meaning.

Involving too many people in this debacle would be dangerous. Kylo knows he must be the only one to supervise little Armitage until he can find a way to change him back. As little number of people as possible can know about the boy or else Kylo risks uproar across the First Order for their lack of General. It _certainly_ isn’t because Kylo thinks he’s getting attached to him.

Reaching out through the Force and scouring his connections, Kylo searches for two of his most trusted knights, informing them that he has an extremely delicate mission for them and that they must be on board the _Finalizer_ within the next cycle to receive instructions. Kylo sits quietly for a moment, his breathing heavy as he attempts to remain connected to the minds of his knights, waiting for them to respond to him. After a few silent seconds, both of them answer, their loyalty clear in their tones.

‘ _We shall be there, master. We shall leave immediately and be beside you before the sun sets.’_

Kylo thanks them before detaching himself from them, coming back to himself with a frown. Something hadn’t felt right when stretching out with the Force like that; something dark and mysterious still lingers around him and his connection to the Force, obviously interfering with his connection to his knights. Kylo blames it on the aura of the Dark Temple, still floating around him like an unwanted smell. He hopes it’ll fade soon; it isn’t pleasant.  

A sudden but apprehensive knock at the door disrupts Kylo’s thoughts, though he finds himself immediately looking to Armitage, seeing the boy’s sleep disturbed by the noise as he shifts underneath the dark sheets, eyelids fluttering as though on the verge of wakefulness. Kylo frowns angrily, glancing at the chronometer to see _08:38_ in on its bright display, cursing whoever is at the door for disrupting them at such an early hour of the cycle. With tentatively angry strides, Kylo walks to the door, pressing the button on the control panel on the side to open it.

The female medic who Kylo had taken Armitage to yesterday stands in the doorway, a droid next to her carrying a large, grey container. Her perplexed gaze drifts down Kylo’s body, her eyebrows drawn together in a frown.

“Erm, my apologies. Commander Ren?”

“Keep your voice down,” Kylo says, suddenly being fully aware that he hasn’t got his mask on, waves of confusion rolling of the medic’s aura. He’s sure this is the first time that she’s seen him without his mask. “He’s still sleeping. What do you want?”

“Oh! Yes. General Hux—I mean, the boy. Yes. I’ve done as you requested, sir, and gathered what clothing I could that would suit a child of his size.”

The droid chips, lifting the box in the air as though indicating that’s what is inside it.

“Good. Where did you get such items from?” Kylo asks.

“Most from emergency storage, likely kept there in case there were ever unexpected children on board,” she says. “There’s other things in there too, sir. Things…that I thought he may like to play with.” The inflection at the end of her sentence makes it sound more like a question than a statement, as though doubting whether Kylo would approve of her doing _extra work_ to find Armitage some toys.

“Your help is appreciated,” Kylo says, gesturing for the droid to enter and set the box down on the floor next to the couch. “Did anyone question your behaviour?”

The medic shakes her head. “No, sir. I was discreet in my search.”

“Good.” The droid bustles back out of the room, Kylo watching it go. He looks back up to the medic. “What’s your name?”

“Vanda, sir. And I’m only happy to offer my help,” she says, giving him a slight smile, her freckled cheeks blushing as though she feels she’s crossed a line, as though she’s forgotten who she’s standing in front of because of his young face. Kylo ignores it.

“ _Vanda_ ,” he says, echoing her name to ensure he’s got the pronunciation right. She nods. “I’m in need of something else from you. As you can understand, I’d rather not escort the _General_ to the mess hall to get him meals. It’d be most appreciated if you could organise a droid to bring his meals to him. Here.”

Vanda nods, her pony tail of dark hair bouncing along with her movements. “Of course, sir. I’ll do that now. What sort of food?”

Kylo resists the urge to merely shrug his shoulders. “Just. Food that a child’s palate would be content with. …Thank you,” Kylo hesitates, feeling as though he’d be a lot less awkward if he had his helmet on to hide how _badly_ he’s coping with having to look after a five year old boy.

Vanda says nothing else but she salutes him before walking away, a small smile on her thin lips, the little droid following her closely down the corridor.  

Kylo closes the door, turning back around to see Armitage sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, yawning. Kylo doesn’t manage to stifle his smile at the mess of copper hair atop Armitage’s head, dishevelled from sleep, strands sticking up all over the place.

“Did the noise wake you up?” Kylo asks, walking towards the box.

“Mmhmm,” Armitage nods, blinking a few times as he stops rubbing his eyes. “I though father was here but he isn’t, is he, Ren?”

“No. He’s not,” Kylo says, presuming that the boy must be missing his father. “But he’ll be here soon. Don’t worry.”

Armitage doesn’t reply as he climbs out of the bed, dropping down onto the floor with a little thud, the bed obviously much too high for him to just step out of.

“What’s that?” The boy asks, toddling over to where Kylo is kneeling down in front of the large container, its lid open completely. Armitage grabs hold of the sides and stands on his tip-toes, peering over, just about tall enough to see inside.

“It’s for you,” Kylo says as he unloads the contents of the box onto the low table, knowing that he should probably be making separate piles for shirts, pants and socks but instead, he makes one disorganised pile of all of the clothes, wanting to see what Vanda has managed to find. There are a few pairs of plain, black pants as well as a single grey pair which feel as though they could be particularly itchy. White and black shirts are in there too, as well as a few different coloured jumpers that are strangely soft underneath Kylo’s fingers. Underneath all of the normal clothes are a set of pyjamas. Plaid pants; soft shades of blue cascading over white in square patterns with a long-sleeved grey shirt, its collar and cuffs a darker shade of grey. There’s a single pair of little black boots inside too, though worn and looking more like wellington boots than _real_ boots, but Kylo supposes they’ll do for now.

Oddly, Kylo finds himself thinking that _Hux_ would approve.

“For… _me_?” Armitage sounds more confused than he’s ever been before. Kylo looks at him, seeing a frown on his face.

“Yeah,” Kylo scoffs, nods. “For you. Clothes. Toys.”

“Toys?” Armitage echoes in a fearful tone as though afraid of the mere word. He peels his hands off the box and takes a step back away from it, shaking his head. Kylo frowns. “Father says I’m not allowed to have toys. They’re for babies.”

A _boy_ not allowed to have toys? Why would Brendol Hux tell his son such a nonsense thing? Even _Ben_ , who felt neglected and unloved by his parents, had a plentiful amount of toys; model starships and stacks of storybooks and stuffed animals that would be of massive comfort to him when he felt alone, clinging onto their fluffy bodies for companionship.

Yet, a man as great and as _intelligent_ as Brendol Hux hadn’t allowed his own child to have _toys?_ Kylo wonders what Hux’s mother had to say about this but he decides not to ask. Kylo knows nothing about Hux’s mother, though he presumes that, as of this present time, she’s deceased, like Brendol is.

For the first time since he’d regressed to this age, Kylo realises that _he_ is all Armitage has in terms of potential family. Brendol Hux had passed away only a few years ago; Kylo remembers it well. Hux had pretended not to care, his face as stoic as it had ever been, but the sadness radiating from his being had almost knocked Kylo to the floor. Dwelling on Hux for a moment, Kylo may even go as far to say that he’s all the General has too, for all of their arguing and bickering, Hux has no family left in the galaxy. An orphan, like Kylo Ren.

“Get dressed,” Kylo says, handing Armitage a pair of the black trousers, a dark green jumper and a pair of little black socks. “Your breakfast will be here soon.”

Armitage eagerly takes the clothes off him and rubs the jumper against his cheek.

“Soft,” he says. “My clothes at home aren’t soft. They’re itchy.” He scrunches his nose up as though imagining himself wearing the scratchy clothes, irritating his skin.

Before Kylo can ask exactly _where_ Armitage considers ‘ _home’_ , there’s a faint beeping sound coming from the other side of the door. Kylo turns around and, still kneeling on the floor, opens the door with the Force, with a wave of his hand. An LEP servant droid stands in the doorway, the inscription _LEP-0TS_ etched into the metal of its chest, holding a tray of assorted foods. On its two legs, it plods into the room, chirping at its high frequency as it looks for a place to put the tray.

“Here,” Kylo says, pointing to a space on the table, a little frustrated that the droid couldn’t figure that out for itself, but he supposes he should be thankful for Vanda organising this for him so quickly. Taking Armitage to the mess hall in front of all Hux’s subordinates would be _less_ than ideal; Kylo doesn’t think that the officers would understand the situation. They may even attempt to fight for Hux’s position as General in wake of his absence.

Kylo doesn’t want to risk a coup.

The droid puts the tray down and Kylo nods at it in a gesture of thanks. It beeps happily, as though he’s trying to say something.

“What?” Kylo asks, sounding uninterested.

The droid beeps again, altering the frequency of its voice to make the word clearer.

“ _Otis?”_ Kylo frowns, but looks down to the etchings on the little droid’s chest. “0TS? _Oh_.”

The droid, _Otis,_ nods as Kylo realises it’s got a name it prefers being called. It chirps contently. Kylo rolls his eyes, cursing his luck for being stuck with the happiest droid on the entire ship.

He looks over to Armitage, seeing him completely dressed in his _new_ clothes, though he’s kneeling on the floor and folding his pyjamas neatly into perfect shapes, placing them underneath the pillows of the bed once he’s done. Kylo can’t help but watch in slight awe, being fully aware of the General’s obsessiveness for things to be organised neatly, though its slightly odd, he admits, watching a boy of Armitage’s age acting so formally, folding his clothes like a well-trained soldier would in their barracks.

“Armitage. Breakfast,” Kylo says, moving the box away from the table so the area is tidy.

The boy turns, his bright hair still messy, eyes lighting up when he sees the food on the tray. A warm plate of Panna cakes sits in the centre, drizzled in golden Poptree syrup which drips off the edges of the cakes. A small glass of milk and a bowl of brightly coloured fruits sit on the tray too, but Armitage’s gaze seems locked on the syrup-covered cakes.

“This is for me?” Armitage asks, his hands back to twisting at the hem of his jumper, a nervous tick that Kylo notices the boy does _a lot._ “Nanna only ever gives me porridge.”

“You have a Nanna?” Kylo asks, pushing the table closer to the sofa, wondering whether Armitage is referring to one of his biological grandmothers. He lifts Armitage up, knowing that the boy may struggle to climb onto the sofa on his own without knocking something over. Armitage settles back into the plush grey cushions of the sofa when Kylo settles him down, eyeing the food.

“Yeah. She stays with me when father is busy,” he says. “She’s nice but she’s not very warm.”

Kylo frowns. “Warm? I don’t understand. _”_

“Her body,” Armitage places his hands flat on his own chest as though he wants to make sure Kylo understands him. “It’s cold. Like your scary face.”

Kylo is confused for a moment before he glances to where his helmet sits at the end of the bedframe, and the pieces fall into place.

Armitage’s _Nanna_ is a droid. A cold, emotionless _machine_ that supervises him whenever Brendol can’t be there.

“What about your mother?” Kylo asks, suddenly remembering that Armitage needs to eat, and begins cutting the cakes into smaller pieces for him to manage, using the Force to control the cutlery.

Armitage’s eyes seem to glaze over for a moment, his gaze drifting away from Kylo’s face. Even without concentrating, Kylo can sense the change in Armitage’s emotions, from being wholly content to agonisingly sad.

“I don’t have a mother,” he says. “Father says that she died to bring me here so he has to look after me.” Armitage’s voice cracks as his eyes brim with tears, his lip quivering. He brings his hand up to wipe his falling tears away, his sleeve pulled over his hand. “Father says that mother wouldn’t want me to be weak and she wouldn’t want me to cry. But I miss her.”

The service droid, Otis, whirrs sadly, hanging its head down as though genuinely upset by Armitage’s words. Kylo feels a coldness run through his veins, an invisible entity tugging at his heart, making it flutter and making it feel as though it’s going to sink into the pit of his stomach. The overwhelming heartbreak that’s radiating from Armitage’s aura is spectacular, like he’s a supernova of tragedy that’s waiting for the next strike to make him explode.

And he’s a _boy,_ likely too young to even understand what death is.

Without a moment’s consideration to keeping his heartless demeanour in front of Otis, Kylo sits himself down on the sofa next to Armitage. Before Kylo can say anything, Armitage scrambles up onto his lap, sitting sideways, leaning his head against Kylo’s chest, grasping hold of the front of Kylo’s dark robes. The boy cries quietly, sniffling and, for a second, Kylo wonders what to do with his own arms. He hesitates, holding them idly in the air with his fingers spread, unknowing of whether he should hold Armitage or tell him to be strong.

But Kylo knows that simply being told to _be strong_ isn’t enough.

_“No more tears, Ben,” Han says, standing in the doorway to Ben’s bedroom, rubbing his eyes. “It’s the middle of the night. If you go back to sleep, you’ll be alright.”_

_“Daddy,” Ben sniffles, sitting up in bed, his blanket clutched tightly in his hands, his pale, chubby cheeks stained with tears. “I don’t wanna sleep. I had a bad dream again.”_

_Han sighs. “We’ve told you before that nothing can hurt you, Ben. Your mother and I are here.” He yawns. Ben’s lip shakes, trying to cuddle his blanket closer to him for warmth. “You just have to be strong.”_

Kylo comes back to the present as he feels Armitage bury his head in his chest, his small body shaking in a poor attempt to hold back his sobs. Kylo exhales slowly, wrapping his arms gently around Armitage, holding him close, resting his cheek on top of the boy’s soft, red hair.

Kylo sighs. He had no clue that Hux had already suffered through so much at such a young age. From his mother dying giving birth to him, to have a droid as his carer, to his father neglecting him of a _childhood_ ; suddenly Hux’s cold and hardened exterior makes perfect sense, a defence he’s built up over years of suffering, of years of being told to _just be strong_ , to protect himself. Kylo wonders if little Armitage is still inside General Hux somewhere, craving warmth and protection from those who call him _weak._

“Ren?”

Kylo looks down, seeing Armitage staring up at him with bright green eyes, tear-stained cheeks and a runny nose. His little fingers are still clutching on tightly to Kylo’s robes, seemingly afraid to let go.

“What is it?”

Armitage swallows hard. “…When will father come back for me?”

Hesitating to answer, Kylo wipes Armitage’s tears from his cheeks, brushing them away with his thumb, attempting to dry his freckled cheeks. He sniffs, looking at Kylo with wide eyes, waiting for a reply. Kylo supposes that, despite Brendol’s seemingly poor choices in raising his son to be more of a soldier than allowing him to be a _child_ , Armitage _must_ miss his father.

“He’ll be here soon, Armitage. He’ll come back for you. He just…has important people to see. He left you with me. For me to look after you,” Kylo says, sounding unconvincing to himself but Armitage nods, rubbing his eyes with one of his hands as he settles back against Kylo’s chest, nuzzling his cheek against the dark fabric of his robe.

With the Force, Kylo levitates the plate of Panna cakes over to them, settling it in the empty space on the couch next to them. The fork, as though possessed, picks a small chunk of the cake and Armitage sits up, holding his hand out to take the cutlery in his hand.

“How is it _doing_ that?” Armitage asks in amazement before stuffing the food into his mouth, chewing quickly as though he’s starving.

“Magic.”

“Father says magic is dangerous.”

Kylo raises his eyebrows. He’d meant his answer to be a joke but he wonders what sort of ‘ _magic’_ Brendol has told his son about.

“Your father is wrong about a lot of things, Armitage.”

Kylo watches him eat, syrup dribbling down his chin. He smiles.

‘ _And the biggest thing he’s wrong about is how weak you are.’_

/////////////////////////////////

“Ren? What are you doing?”

Kylo sits in the middle of the floor in his quarters, his legs crossed, his mind calm and clear, though now disrupted. Armitage _was_ sitting on Kylo’s bed, playing with his various model starships, but he’s currently attempting to climb onto Kylo’s shoulders, his little hands grabbing onto whatever part of Kylo’s body he can to try and get up, including his hair.

“Meditating,” he replies with his eyes closed, huffing as Armitage loses his grip and slips back down to the floor with an ‘ _umph!’_ as he lands on his backside.

Ideally, Kylo would be in his meditation chamber, concentrating on keeping the candle lit like he usually does when entering a meditative state but leaving Armitage alone in either his or Hux’s quarters isn’t an option, either because Kylo doesn’t trust the mischievous little mite or because Kylo wants to ensure he’s protected. Kylo isn’t sure which it is.

Either way, Armitage is here, being his usual curious self.

It’s funny, Kylo thinks; ‘ _curious’_ absolutely is _not_ a word he would use to describe Hux.

“What’s mebitatering?” Armitage asks, butchering the word as he walks around Kylo to stand in front of him. Kylo smirks at his poor pronunciation.

“It’s all about focussing your energy. Relaxing,” Kylo explains, his eyes still closed, though he supposes that trying to explain the process of centring himself so he feels closer to the Dark Side is a waste of time. He opens his eyes, seeing Armitage standing right in front of him, tugging at the bottom of his jumper. “And it’s impossible to do when you’re around.”

Kylo lunges forward, grabbing Armitage by the hips, sending the boy into a fit of giggles, struggling as though wanting to get away, as though it’s a game. Kylo lifts him up, placing the boy down on his shoulders like he was trying to achieve before, Armitage’s legs dangling over the front of Kylo’s body. Tiny fingers bury themselves in Kylo’s hair, though he grimaces slightly as Armitage pulls too hard in an attempt to stay steady on Kylo’s shoulders.

“I like being tall,” Armitage says. “I want to be tall when I grow up.”

Kylo smirks at that, knowing that, though Hux will grow to be tall, he won’t be taller than _him._ Their slight height difference has always amused Kylo, though he knows it annoys Hux for some reason. The General becomes seemingly _irate_ when Kylo points out that he’s taller.

“Father says that I need to be taller. It’s bad to be small and thin,” the boy rests his chin on top of Kylo’s head, his hands moving to Kylo’s face, his little fingers poking at his cheeks. “All the best soldiers are big and strong.”

Kylo’s stomach ties itself in a huge, embarrassed knot, his mind replaying memories of Hux’s cheeks turning a shade of red each time Kylo taunted him about being _too small_ or _too thin._ And each time, Kylo had felt the vicious anger rolling off Hux in tsunami-like waves, but Kylo had presumed that he’d done enough for Hux to _hate_ him, but now, Kylo knows that Hux has had taunts all his life about his slim appearance. Kylo swallows. He feels _sick._

He shakes of the feeling quickly when he feels Armitage’s hands over his eyes and his subsequent giggling.

“Well. What if you were _this_ tall?” Kylo says as he stands up quickly to his full height, chuckling.

Armitage’s hands suddenly leave Kylo’s face and entwine themselves in his hair, obviously worried for his own safety. Kylo feels Armitage’s entire body tense, his heels digging into Kylo’s chest as he clings on, afraid to fall.

“This is _too_ tall,” Armitage says in a shaky voice. “Ren. I don’t like it.”

Kylo laughs but decides to lift him down, not wanting to frighten Armitage any more than he already is. He settles the boy onto his hip, supporting his weight with his arm. Armitage wraps his arms around Kylo’s neck, holding on.

“This is good,” Armitage says, smiling.

Oddly, Kylo feels a warmth in his chest when Armitage smiles, as though it’s a rare thing, something that the boy isn’t _permitted_ to do very often. But before Kylo can dwell on it, his comlink buzzes, making Armitage jump, startled.

“It’s alright. It won’t hurt you,” Kylo says calmly, levitating his comlink over to his open palm, bringing it up to his mouth. “What is it?”

_“It’s Phasma, sir. Two of your Knights are currently docking their shuttle in the hangar. They’ve informed me that you requested their presence on board. Did you clear this with General Hux?”_

Armitage seemingly tenses when he hears his own surname spoken by this strange woman.

“General Hux has no problem with it.”

“ _I see, sir.”_ Phasma doesn’t sound convinced. _“Though, I haven’t seen the General all day. None of us have. Apparently Doctor Vanda reported that he was unwell and unfit for duty. We were informed not to go near his quarters because he needs undisturbed rest, but it’s seemingly the case that **you** have disobeyed those orders and been to see him. How is he? When will he be returning?”_

Kylo rolls his eyes. “I received no such instructions. The General is on his way to recovery and will be back on the bridge soon. You’ll excuse me now, Captain. I have a meeting to attend. Send my knights to Conference Room 3B. Ren _out_.”

Making sure he cuts off the frequency before Phasma can question him further, Kylo exhales, puffing out his cheeks, cursing Phasma and her attentiveness to Hux’s schedule.

“Who’s General Hux?” Armitage asks, his forefinger nervously held in his mouth.

“Nobody,” Kylo replies quickly, but remembers his promise to himself about the way he speaks to the boy. “Just…someone who lives on board the ship. He’s sick at the moment.”

“Can I meet him?”

Kylo smiles. “Yes. One day. I’m sure he’ll like you a lot,” he says, brushing stray strands of copper hair out of Armitage’s eyes as he lowers him back to the ground.

As soon as Kylo steps away from him to find his cowl and the piece of parchment, Armitage’s hands return to their usual, nervous position at the bottom of his jumper.

“Where are you going?” He asks, watching Kylo’s movements.

“I have some people I have to meet with. You should stay here, Armitage. I won’t be long,” Kylo says. He pulls his cowl on over his head, brushing his hair back into place, ready to put his helmet on. Customary of all his knights, his helmet was crucial to his appearance as their master. Without it, he wonders whether his youth would precede his power.

“But I…I want to stay with you.”

Kylo turns around, seeing Armitage’s eyes brimming with tears, a small blush on his cheeks, his gaze drifting down to the floor.

Yesterday, denying Armitage what he wants wouldn’t have been a problem, but now that Kylo knows the reason for the hurt in his young eyes, the reason for General Hux’s cold outer shell, Kylo can’t find it in within himself to be the one to cause Armitage _more_ pain.

“ _Fine_. You can come with me. But you have to stay close, alright?”

Armitage nods excitedly, leaping towards his box of clothes to pull out the little pair of boots that Vanda managed to find. He puts them on, slipping his feet into them with ease, pulling them up and on until they’re sitting where they should be, about halfway up his calf.

“Come on,” Kylo says, pulling on his long, outer robe and stepping towards the door, making sure he has the parchment in his hand, ready to give to his knights for research into the meaning of the mysterious symbols.

Armitage follows closely down the corridors, and Kylo takes the longer route around to the conference room to ensure that he has to mind-wipe as few people as possible who lay eyes on the little red-haired boy who’s bouncing behind Kylo like a fawn would do when following its mother. Thankfully, the corridors are mostly clear on the way to meet Kylo’s knights, only having to wipe seven Stormtrooper’s minds of the image of Armitage following in Kylo’s steps.

The door to Conference Room 3B swishes open, revealing two black-clad figures standing in the middle of the room in conversation, which immediately halts when Kylo strides in. Both figures bow simultaneously, their hoods staying over their masked heads as they stand back up. Their postures stiffen upon Kylo’s approach.

Atlan Ren and Eon Ren are two of Kylo’s most skilled and most trusted knights, with wisdom beyond their years and an unfathomable loyalty to the Knights of Ren. Both human and both strong with the Force, Atlan is the taller of the two, his shoulders broad and strong like the rest of his physique. But what young Eon lacks in height and weight, she makes up for in intelligence and wit.

“Master Kylo,” Atlan says, his voice distorted through the vocoder in his mask like Kylo’s usually is. “We arrived as soon as we could. Your mind felt…troubled.”

Before Kylo can thank them for their haste, he feels Armitage grab hold of his leg with both of his hands. Kylo looks down, seeing the boy cowering underneath his long robes, hiding behind his leg. There’s a fear in Armitage’s eyes that Kylo recognises, the same fear that’d been present when Kylo had lost his temper with him, his mask leering and intimidating. Eon’s mask looks clean and polished, the same shape as Kylo’s with the elongated front, two sharp points cascading vertically from the sides of her helmet. But Atlan’s is a little more worn, a long slit to allow him to see, the bottom half of the mask cut in a check pattern.

The boy whimpers quietly. “Ren…?”

“It’s alright, Armitage,” Kylo says, giving him a small, reassuring smile. He turns back to his knights. “It’d be appreciated if you’d remove your masks just for now. He…doesn’t like them.”

Eon nods and her hands immediately go to her helmet without hesitation, but Atlan pauses, his head turning to Eon as though to question her actions but her mask is already off. She shakes her head slightly, flicking her light brown hair back into place, and Kylo can see that she’s changed her hairstyle since he’s last seen her. One side of her head is completely shaven, the rest of her light hair brushed over to the other side, partly obscuring her fierce, blue gaze. She holds her helmet in her hands and stand with a rigid posture, like a young cadet awaiting orders.

With a disgruntled groan, Atlan copies the actions of his companion and removes his helmet with sharp movements, and Kylo can sense his displeasure at being asked to do this for the contentment of a _boy._ Atlan has been a Knight of Ren much longer than Eon and he’s older than Kylo by just a few years, not that Kylo allows him to use that to belittle his authority. Atlan’s hair is dark, though not as long or as full as Kylo’s, sitting just at the nape of his neck, brushed carelessly back out his eyes. His steely-grey eyes only add to the paleness of his face, his face framed by at least half a dozen scars, a particularly large gash on the bottom of his left cheek, though covered by some of his stubble.

Atlan looks less than happy with the current situation, but Kylo is more than used to the man’s complaining at something that he doesn’t agree with but as he looks down to Armitage, Kylo sees him look a lot calmer now that he can see the faces of the strangers.

“I’ll keep this quick,” Kylo says. “General Hux was captured by an unknown party and taken to the Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas. On the Supreme Leader’s orders, I was tasked with finding him. When I did, he—. A ritual had taken place.” He hands the piece of parchment over to Eon, who eyes it carefully. “I need the two of you to research what these symbols mean. They were painted on Hux’s body when I found him. And now. Well.” Kylo inclines his head downwards to Armitage, not wanting to mention anything specific about what happened to General Hux in front of him.

“You wish for us to find a way to reverse the ritual?” Eon asks, her voice soft.

Kylo nods. “I suppose that may come with decoding the symbols. But yes. Ideally.”

“Forgive me, master,” Atlan says, looking down at the parchment for a moment before looking to Kylo, his eyes confused. “But _your_ skills in such areas exceed my own, and certainly exceed Eon’s.” The girl turns to him, giving him a bit of a scowl. Kylo ignores it. “Why task this to us?”

Whether consciously or not, Armitage’s grip on Kylo’s pant leg seems to get tighter as Atlan finishes his question. Kylo looks down to him, seeing the boy still cowering away from his knights, his cheek pressed against Kylo’s leg. It’s definitely fear that Armitage is feeling; Kylo can sense it, emitting from the boy’s unorganised mind in panicked jitters. Bending down, Kylo picks him up, noting how Armitage holds his arms out and ready to cling on to Kylo as soon as he’s settled on his hip.

“I can’t leave him,” Kylo says. Armitage squirms in his grip, twisting away from Eon and Atlan so he has his back to them, his cheek resting on Kylo’s shoulder. Without even looking at them, Kylo can sense the frowns of his knights, obviously confused by his behaviour towards the little red-head. Kylo clears his throat. “It’s a delicate situation. Involving anyone else in the boy’s care would only add _more_ danger. I don’t have any sort of inclination about who may have done this, or _why,_ but believe me when I say that there was something odd about the way the Force flowed around me in the Temple. This isn’t an ordinary foe. It’s someone strong with the Dark Side. Keep your guards up.”

“Yes, master,” Eon and Atlan chime in unison as the girl carefully folds the parchment in half and places in one of the pockets of her long, black coat.

Kylo looks at both of them, noting a troubled look on Atlan’s face.

“You look distracted, Atlan. If you have something to say to me, then speak.”

Atlan exhales slowly through his nose as he flips his robe back so he can place his gloved hand on his hip. Absently, Kylo notes that two of the man’s fingers are stroking along the hilt of his lightsaber, fingers gliding over its bumpy grip. Shifting Armitage’s weight slightly, Kylo gets a tighter hold of him.

“It’s nothing, master. I would just think it would make more sense for us to chase after the culprit of such crimes,” Atlan’s voice is dark and gruff, his gaze sharp and cold. This isn’t the first time that the knight has chosen to question Kylo’s orders, but Kylo ensures his own gaze is frigid in response. “Wasting time trying to find the meaning of such scribblings will only allow the criminal to escape further into the depths of the galaxy.”

“I doubt the criminal will have travelled far. I rescued the General before they had the chance to see whether the ritual was a success. But that _isn’t_ the mission I’m giving you, Atlan. Translate the letters, report your findings. Is that clear?”

Atlan nods, bowing his head. “Yes, Master Ren. My apologies.”

“Good. You both are dismissed. Report back to me once you find something,” Kylo retorts sharply as he turns to leave, feeling Armitage snuggle closer into his body.

Kylo has no doubt that his knights will succeed in their mission in translating the symbols but, as he becomes hyper aware of Armitage’s weight against him and the feel of his soft, red hair against his cheek, Kylo wonders whether they’ll succeed in finding a cure.

‘ _What if they don’t?’_ He thinks, striding back to his quarters. ‘ _What if it’s irreversible and Hux will have to grow up **again**? …He won’t be the same man.’_

“Ren?” Armitage’s timid voice calls Kylo back from his enigmatic thoughts. 

“Mm?” He looks down at the boy, seeing his cheeks lacking a blush, his lips with no smile.

“I’m cold.”

Feeling Armitage’s cheeks and forehead with the back of his hand, Kylo finds there’s a lingering chill on the boy’s skin, and he immediately worries that he’s getting sick…or it’s a residual effect of the dark ritual.

“Here,” Kylo says, pulling off his cowl awkwardly with one hand, draping it around the boy’s shoulders as a make-shift blanket until they got back to Kylo’s quarters. “Better?”

“A little,” Armitage replies, pulling the cowl tighter around himself.

Kylo suppresses his worry as his thoughts return back to the possible lack of remedy for Hux’s deaged state, the possibility that they’ve lost their best General and, with the Starkiller Project so close to completion, they're without the man in charge of it all.

The First Order is not going to approve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Kylo wasn't going to leave little Armitage to go hunting for the meaning of the symbols! Since we know very little about the Knights of Ren, I decided it'd probably best to just give them names like this rather than names like "The Monk" which have been mentioned here and there. 
> 
> [And here's a better visual representation of what Eon's and Atlan's masks look like.'](https://67.media.tumblr.com/464529dd309391f109142a80de30e82c/tumblr_oe4t7gf91Y1v2ekywo1_540.jpg)
> 
>  And the incredible artwork of baby Armitage sitting on Kylo's shoulders was created by the gorgeous [@sigalawin ❤️](https://sigalawin.tumblr.com)
> 
> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Extra warnings for this chapter: implied animal death and abusive behaviour (Brendol & Armitage, _not_ Kylo  & Armitage)**

The following four days don’t bring anything new, much to Kylo’s disappointment. He’d entrusted Eon and Atlan Ren with this _delicate_ mission because he believes in their skill but after contacting them, Kylo finds that their trail of anything relating to whatever ritual occurred on Hux’s body is completely cold. They promise that they’re working as hard and as fast as they can, but Kylo ends the call before he hears any of their excuses.

Still, Kylo hasn’t had much time to doubt the abilities of his knights; Armitage has been demanding more and more of his attention, wanting to explore more of the ship, wanting to know what _every single_ flashing button means. With tired eyes, Kylo glances over to his bed where Armitage sleeps, settled under the thick duvet for the night, his thumb in his mouth, curled in on himself in the centre of Kylo’s large bed. It’s still difficult to believe, Kylo thinks as he dozes on the sofa, his elbow resting on the arm and his chin in his palm, that Hux used to be such a quiet little boy.

Kylo looks down to the datapad in his lap, tapping away, trying to hack into Hux’s personal file to find out more about the childhood he’s been seemingly trying to hide from the rest of the galaxy. Little Armitage has only told him bits and pieces, only vague details that don’t reveal much about his home, and Kylo is reluctant to pry into the boy’s mind. After all, what Armitage has told him about his father, Kylo has begun to doubt the grandeur of Commandant Hux’s reputation, wondering how a man who’s considered to be so _intelligent_ can possibly treat his only son in such a poor way, denying him toys and affection, calling him _weak,_ telling him that he needs to be a _good soldier._ Kylo turns his nose up at the thought of the little boy that he’s grown so attached to cowering underneath the stern gaze of his father.

A small whine startles the silence and Kylo looks over to his bed, seeing Armitage wriggling underneath the sheets, his eyebrows drawn together in a fearful frown, his body and mind still consumed by sleep.

“Papa,” Armitage whispers, pulling his thumb out of his mouth. “No, ‘m sorry.”

Without even concentrating, Kylo’s mind latches onto Armitage’s as the boy begins to loudly broadcast his dream that’s growing more and more intense by the second. Feeling an odd mix of curiousness and protectiveness, Kylo focuses on Armitage’s nightmare, wanting to see what’s disturbing his sleep. He calls on the Force to aid him, wanting to ease himself gently into Armitage’s nightmare, afraid of harming the boy’s young and untrained mind. Kylo breathes slowly, never having entered someone’s mind so carefully before.

_When he comes back to himself, opening his eyes slowly, Kylo finds himself standing in the corner of a dimly lit office. He stays back in the shadows, a mere observer of this world, knowing that interfering may cause the boy some pain when he wakes. Armitage, looking as he does now, small and frail, stands in front of his father’s grand desk, his back to Kylo though he can see the boy holding something in his arms, clutching it tightly against his chest in a hug. Brendol Hux, a large man with dark-greying hair—Kylo realises that Hux’s bright, copper hair must’ve been from his mother—stands behind the desk, arms folded behind his back and leering down his nose at the boy as though he’s a devious cadet and not his son._

_“Papa, I don’t want to,” Armitage says, looking up to into his father’s cold eyes. “She’s my friend.”_

_Kylo frowns, walking around the edge of the room to stand parallel to the scene. A small, ginger kitten sits in Armitage’s arms, her head nestled under his chin, purring at his warmth. A red ribbon is tied loosely around her neck, acting as a makeshift collar, tied in a bow at the nape of her neck. Kylo’s heart sinks._

_“Bastard child,” Brendol snaps, slamming his fists down on the desk and even Kylo flinches at the sudden noise. “Ungrateful runt. I will not tolerate such weakness in someone who carries my great name. Useless, just like your mother. You will learn to be strong, or else.” He stands back up to his full height and breathes slowly though his nose. “Now. Hand me the animal.”_

_Kylo’s teary eyes move from Brendol to Armitage, mentally begging the boy not to do as his father says. Armitage sniffles, his lips quivering as he holds back his tears, giving his kitten a kiss on her fuzzy, little head before placing her in his father’s open palm. She meows, paw reaching out for her friend, but Brendol’s hand is tight around her middle._

_“I will teach you to be strong, Armitage,” Brendol says, moving his hand to around the kitten’s neck._

_“Y-yes, sir.”_

_Kylo feels his rage burning inside him, coursing through his veins and reaching the tips of his fingers until he’s unsure of whether he can keep his hands from curling around Brendol’s neck._

_“You bastard. He’s just a boy!” Kylo shouts but neither of the figures in front of him react to his voice. He can’t watch anymore; he feels like his chest is going to implode from the overwhelming agony that’s wrapping around his heart. Armitage begins to weep, his shoulders slumping sadly as he looks away from his father and his kitten. Kylo has seen enough._

Kylo comes out of Armitage’s nightmare with a sharp gasp, finding himself lying flat on his back on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. He rubs his eyes, only to be distracted by the sounds of muffled crying. He sits up, seeing Armitage with his head buried in his pillow, little body trembling. Exhaling in a shuddering breath at the distress of what he’s just seen in this _boy’s_ mind, Kylo hastily leaps towards the bed, sitting down on the edge, hand reaching out to touch Armitage’s shoulder. The boy turns his head slowly, coughing from the intensity of his sobbing, looking up at Kylo with tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. He sits up, and Kylo anticipates his next move so opens his arms so Armitage can fling himself at Kylo, clinging on tightly.

“It’s alright,” Kylo says, hugging the boy tightly, imagining a bubble around them both, protecting them from everything even remotely dangerous. “You’re safe.”

“I had a bad dream,” Armitage says, sniffling.

“I know. But nothing can hurt you whilst you’re here, Armitage. Your father isn’t here.”

Armitage nods, roughly wiping his nose with the sleeve of his pyjama shirt. He peels his arms away from Kylo’s neck but rests his cheek on his shoulder, snuggling down in his strong and warm arms. Without hesitation, Kylo cradles him, rocking him gently, trying to forget the scene of Brendol holding Armitage’s kitten in his cold hands.

‘ _Bastard child’,_ Brendol had said. _Bastard._ Kylo’s mind reels, trying to recall what Armitage has previously told him about his mother, trying to piece together the seemingly incomprehensible childhood of Armitage Hux. The more that’s revealed, the more questions appear in Kylo’s mind; an endless loop of ‘ _why’s’ and ‘when’s’,_ wondering what _else_ happened to make little Armitage into the cold and calculated General Hux.

 _‘I don’t have a mother,_ ’ he’d said after talking about his Nanny-droid. _‘Father says that she died to bring me here so he has to look after me.’_

Kylo closes his eyes slowly. Armitage is a _bastard;_ his mother had passed away during childbirth, a woman who _wasn’t_ Brendol’s wife. With likely no family, the baby had likely been forced into his father’s cold and callous hands, no childhood, no _love,_ just training and rigorous teaching, whatever needed to be done for little Armitage to be shaped into the type of solider that his father so desired.

Kylo swallows hard. Suddenly the man who Kylo thought to be empty and void of emotion makes _more_ than perfect sense. Hux never had a choice; bullied into believing he’s weak, fighting for his father’s approval, doing anything to _earn_ the right of being called a ‘Hux.’

“Ren?” Armitage’s quiet voice pulls Kylo from his thoughts about the General. He looks down, seeing the boy staring up at him, his eyes free of tears. “Can you stay with me?”

Kylo feels a tiny pull at his shirt as Armitage wraps his fingers in it.

“If that’s what you wish,” he says hesitantly, opening his arms so the boy is able to climb back into bed, scuttling under the covers, moving over to the left side.

Kylo flexes his fingers, feeling awkward, Armitage staring at him and waiting for him to lie down. After clearing his throat, Kylo lies on top of the duvet on his side, his body rigid. He feels _odd,_ finding that he’s forgetting that this boy is _Hux,_ this boy whose mind is now a lot calmer now that he’s been comforted by Kylo, this boy who Kylo would do almost anything to protect.

“Do you ever have bad dreams?” Armitage asks, yawning.

Kylo chuckles. “All the time.”

////////////////////////

The sudden sound of his comlink buzzing startles Kylo awake. He groans in defiance, wanting to ignore it but supposes it could be one of his knights with important news. Kylo stretches, and it takes a moment for him to remember where he is. He’s still lying on his side on top of his bed, still dressed in his regular clothes, still in the same position he’d been in when he’d fallen asleep, the only difference being that Armitage has seemingly shifted closer to him during the night, cuddled right close to his chest, a tuft of his copper hair tickling the underside of Kylo’s jaw.

Instead of using the Force to retrieve it like he usually would, Kylo gentle pries himself gently off of the bed, trying not to wake Armitage. He grabs his comlink from the table and answers it, keeping his voice low.

“What is it?” He asks, waiting for the reply.

 _“Erm, Master Ren?”_ It’s Lieutenant Mitaka’s voice, shaky as per usual. In the background, Kylo swears he can hear the faint sound of an alert. “ _We have a situation developing on the bridge. There are incoming ships on our scanners that do not register with any of our records. Colonel Myres isn’t sure how to proceed, sir. S-she thought it was best to contact you, seeing as we’re unable to contact General Hux and you’re next in command—I mean, in joint-command with him. Sir.”_

Kylo curses. It wouldn’t be safe to take Armitage up onto the bridge; it’d be too _obvious_ that he’s _General_ Hux, what with his bright hair and enthusiasm for flashing lights.

“I’ll be there momentarily,” he replies with a falsely confident tone, abruptly cutting the frequency and shoving his comlink into the back pocket of his trousers with a stern hand.

He begins putting his long robes on, dressing appropriately to appear in front of the crew, but there comes a small tapping sound at the door, and Kylo recognises the sound instantly. Opening it with a wave of his hand, Otis, the little serving droid, chirpily enters as it does every morning with Armitage’s breakfast perfectly balanced on a tray.

“Ren?”

Kylo turns sharply on his heels, seeing Armitage climbing out of bed, his bright hair messy and fluffy, padding towards Kylo with bare feet.

“Where are you going?” The boy asks, chewing on the end of his sleeve.

Kylo sighs. “There’s something I have to go and see to. It’s safer for you to stay here, Armitage. Otis will be with you.”

The droid beeps happily, showing its willingness to play babysitter for a while. But Armitage isn’t content.

“I want to go with _you_ ,” he says, pulling at Kylo’s robe, wanting to be picked up.

“Not this time, Armitage,” Kylo insists, picking the boy up anyway and setting him down on the couch, though Armitage is reluctant to let go of Kylo’s robe, as though afraid that letting go would mean that his Ren would never come back. “I’ll be back soon. I promise. You can eat your breakfast whilst I’m gone.”

It takes a couple of seconds of silent staring before Armitage nods slowly, and Kylo can sense his discomfort at being left alone with only a droid…a cold, emotionless droid, like his Nanna. Kylo sits down on the couch and levitates one of the toy star destroyers out of the box and over to Armitage’s lap, settling it down gently. The boy grabs hold of it and cuddles it close to his chest.

“As long as you’ve got your army to fight for you, nothing bad is going to happen,” Kylo says, touching the toy, and Armitage nods.

“Okay,” he mutters, cheek resting on the cold plastic of the little star destroyer.

“Good. I’ll be back soon.”

Kylo gives a reassuring smile to the boy, turning to glare at the droid as he leaves, as though warning it to keep Armitage safe. Otis beeps nervously but nods, moving to put the breakfast tray down on the table.

As he exits his quarters without Armitage by his side for the first time, Kylo feels strange, a pang of worry nestling in his chest. He knows he would _never_ feel like this if Hux were his normal age; he’d slam the door in Hux’s face after telling him how weak he is—. Kylo stops himself with a sharp intake of breath, recalling how Brendol had spoken to little Armitage, and suddenly Kylo is remembering every single time he’d criticised Hux for his thinness, for his _weakness,_ for his inability to do anything correctly.

And suddenly, Kylo thinks he’s no better than Brendol.

The harsh criticism and the constant belittling that he received from his father are likely things that Hux has tried his whole life to forget, to put behind him, or use to drive him forwards. And yet. Along comes Kylo, repeating the same cursed words that caused little Armitage so many horrendous nightmares.

Kylo absently wonders whether General Hux still has the same nightmares as Armitage had.

Before he’s done pondering over his future relationship with the General, Kylo reaches the bridge, a faint alarm blurring in the background.

“Colonel,” Kylo says, approaching the tall woman standing at the helm of the bridge. “Update on the situation.”

The woman, Colonel Myres, salutes him.

“Sir,” she says, brushing her long blonde hair behind her ears. “Our scanners have picked up three ships travelling towards us but we’re unable to recognise them. We believe them to be modified Resistance scout ships.”

Kylo, suddenly being _very_ aware of the fact that he’s helmetless, looks out into the vastness of space.

“Keep lasers and cannons on stand-by until they show themselves, but ideally use the tractor beam to pull them in,” he says, trying not to tremble with anger at the thought of facing the Resistance. “Whoever they are, they’ll no doubt try to fight once they see us. If they become too much trouble, destroy them.”

“Yes, sir,” Myres says, striding away from him to give a few incoherent commands to other officers.

Kylo looks down to the empty spot next to him, the spot where General Hux usually occupies, his stance proud and tall in front of his crew. Kylo imagines Hux standing in front of the full-length mirror in his quarters, practising his overbearing look, making himself appear _stronger,_ making his body look thicker with the aid of his greatcoat, hoping to shed the weak _boy_ that cowered in his father’s shadow. Kylo clenches his fists, stepping away from the head of the bridge, feeling as though it’s odd being here without Hux to control the situation.

Lieutenant Mitaka clearing his throat catches Kylo’s attention. Both he and Colonel Myres turn to his station.

“Sirs, I’ve received word that though we were unable to recognise the ships, they’ve got markings on the sides of their crafts that suggest that they’re…pirates.”

Kylo frowns angrily.

“So. What you are telling me, _Lieutenant,_ is that you sent the ship into alert _and_ dragged myself up here to look at some lowly _pirates._ Is that correct?” Kylo sneers.

Mitaka stutters, looking to Myres, who doesn’t look happy.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. We thought it may be the Resistance attempting to steal our plans for Starkiller,” he says.

Kylo rolls his eyes. “Fine. Continue with normal proceedings. Catch them, interrogate them, investigate their cargo. Do _not_ disturb me with this sort of nonsense again.”

Before either of the crew members can reply, Kylo storms away, cursing them for making him leave little Armitage alone. He’s taken it upon himself to be the boy’s _protector,_ to be the one that Armitage trusts, and potentially, the bridge crew and their little debacle have ruined it. Kylo strides back to his quarters, pondering over activities in his mind for Armitage to do to make it up to him; maybe even something as ridiculous as _hide-and-seek._

Kylo opens the door to his quarters, expecting to have Armitage leap at him the minute he set foot inside the room. But the boy is nowhere to be seen, his breakfast untouched on the tray.

“Armitage?” Kylo calls out, looking in the fresher and still finding no sign of him. Kylo even notes that the boy’s little black boots are missing from the side of the couch. An overpowering sense of worry builds in Kylo’s chest, sending his heartbeat into overdrive as his mind spirals into an endless list of possible things that could’ve happened to Armitage whilst Kylo had left him alone.

_‘I should never have left him alone.’_

Otis sits deactivated next to the couch and, with a wave of his hand, Kylo brings it back to life, snarling at him before the droid has a chance to annoyingly _chirp_ like is usually does.

“Where is he?” Kylo roars, bending down slightly to intimidate the droid more, staring at it with a strong frown.

Otis replies with a scared beep, pointing towards the door.

“ _He wanted to leave so you opened the door for him,”_ Kylo repeats, translating the binary, feeling part of his worry transform into the desire to rip the droid apart. “Where did he want to go?”

With a quiet chirp, Otis points at Kylo.

Kylo curses; the _Finalizer_ is a _big_ ship. Armitage could be anywhere, he could’ve gotten himself into any sort of trouble by now. Deciding to deal with the blasted droid later, Kylo rushes back out the door, calling out to the Force to guide his search, to drive his instinct on which direction Armitage will have wandered in. He chooses left, and walks with a panicked haste, deciding that running would attract too much attention, but he knows that time is of the essence if he wants to limit the number of people that Armitage interacts with.

A red-haired little boy going by the name of _Armitage Hux_ wandering the corridors of a Star Destroyer whilst _General Hux_ remains mysteriously bed-ridden; it wouldn’t take someone of genius intellect to make the connection.

Suddenly, the comlink in Kylo’s back pocket begins to buzz, stopping him in his tracks. He contemplates ignoring it, presuming that it’d be the bridge again, bothering him with unnecessary tasks. But he knows that the other possibility is that it’s someone who’s found Armitage in the middle of his little adventure to find Ren, and decided to contact Kylo.

He pulls out the comlink and opens the frequency.

“ _Sir, it’s Phasma. There’s an urgent matter in Rec Room 4 that requires your attention,”_ Phasma’s voice comes sharp and quick over the line.

Kylo sighs, growling back. “I’m busy. Can’t it wait?”

“ _I’m afraid not, sir. There’s a disruption among officers that requires a senior commander to investigate. I’m indisposed in the training room.”_

 _“_ Fine. I’ll see to it,” Kylo huffs angrily before shoving his comlink back in his pocket. He supposes that it’s partially likely that the disruption _may_ be little Armitage causing a ruckus among the crew.

With long and heavy strides, Kylo makes his way to Rec Room 4, handily on the same deck, expecting to find a gaggle of officers along the corridor, gossiping about the little redhead. But Kylo finds the corridor is emptier than he’s ever seen it. It’s quiet too; no crashing or shouting that Kylo had expected to find when Phasma described it as a ‘ _disruption.’_ Feeling more than confused, Kylo opens the door to the Rec Room, and relief washes over him.

Armitage is sat on one of the luscious couches, settled back into the puffy cushions, a bag of opened jelly candies in his lap, his gaze locked on the holoprojector as a cartoon plays loudly. His toy Star Destroyer sits next to him, and Kylo can’t help but smile at the thought of Armitage thinking that the little toy protects him.

“I know you liked keeping secrets, Ren, but this takes it to a whole new level,” Phasma says, standing up from one of the chairs in the corner, striding over to Kylo. She’s dressed in her full armour, though her helmet and cape are missing. With a quick glance back over to Armitage, Kylo sees that Phasma’s cape is draped around the boy like a blanket.

“I have my reasons,” Kylo says. “Where did you find him?”

“Wandering the corridors looking like a little lost animal. He said he was looking for you,” Phasma replies, folding her arms. “He told me that his name is Armitage Hux, that his father left him here for a while for _you_ to look after him.”

Kylo slowly trails his gaze from Phasma’s intense blue stare to where Armitage sits contently watching his cartoon, feeding himself brightly coloured sweets.

“I went to General Hux’s quarters this morning. Forcibly entered. His room looks as though it hasn’t been touched in a week,” Phasma says, her tone getting increasingly more impatient. “Do you want to start answering my questions, Ren, or should I call security to have you forcibly detained for treason against the ship’s General?”

“It’s not treason,” Kylo says, wanting to roll his eyes at the empty threat of mere officers attempting to restrain him. “There was…an incident.”

Phasma raises her eyebrows. “Go on.”

“When the General was taken,” Kylo begins, keeping his voice down, though he very much doubts that even a red alert wouldn’t distract Armitage from his holocartoon and his candy. “I found him in a temple soaked in the power of the Dark Side. He was already gripped by the throes of a high fever, but there was something else. Something had happened to him. A ritual, I suspect. Markings covered his body, markings which I’ve entrusted two of my knights to translate. When I went back to Hux’s quarters, I found… _him._ ”

They both turn to look at the boy, whose gaze is finally freed from the holo.

“Ren!” Armitage shouts, climbing down off the couch to run to Kylo, Phasma’s cape still around his shoulders.

Kylo bends down, scooping Armitage up as he leaps at him, settling him in his usual spot on his hip.

“I came to find you,” Armitage says, pressing his warm palms against Kylo’s cheeks, patting them. “I didn’t like being alone.”

“I know, I shouldn’t have gone without you. But you shouldn’t have walked out of the room on your own,” Kylo says, trying not to make it sound as though he’s chastising the boy.

“Sorry,” Armitage says. “But it’s okay. Christine found me and told me that she’d bring you to me!”

Kylo frowns, looking over at Phasma. “ _Christine?”_

Phasma shrugs. “I didn’t think he’d be able to say ‘Phasma’. He struggles with his speech sometimes.”

“I _know,_ ” Kylo replies, shifting Armitage closer to him. He supposes that Armitage having difficulty with some of his words means nothing; Kylo has heard many of Hux’s speech to his officers and not once has Hux ever tripped up over his words.

Absently rubbing his cheek against Armitage’s soft hair, Kylo sets him down on the floor, squatting down to talk to him.

“Go and get your things, Armitage. We’re leaving,” Kylo says, standing back up.

Armitage toddles off, and Phasma chuckles.

“It’s weird, seeing him like this,” she says.

“Mm,” Kylo responds with a slow nod, watching as Armitage gathers his sweets and his toy together. “He’s different. From Hux, I mean.”

“I’m not so sure,” Phasma lowers her voice, ensuring that Armitage can’t hear. “Why do you think he is?”

“Because Armitage is shy. _Afraid_ , even. He has nightmares, he doesn’t like being on his own, he craves attention almost constantly.”

Phasma raises her eyebrows. “And you’re sure Hux isn't like that? I wouldn’t say the two of you have the _best_ relationship that you can make an accurate judgement of what he’s like when he’s not on the bridge. People are different behind closed doors, Ren. You of all people should know that.”

“ _I of all people?”_ Kylo snaps.

“That’s right,” Phasma says, unphased by Kylo’s sudden anger. “You act as though you’re a vengeful machine when you’re in front of the crew but _look._ Look how attached the boy has gotten to you. Look how protective you’ve become of him.”

Kylo takes an instinctive step backwards, his skin crawling at the thought of his subordinates thinking he’s gone _soft._

“It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep General Hux safe until he can be returned to his correct age,” Kylo says, trying not to think of how sad he’d felt when Armitage had been sobbing into his shoulder this morning.

Phasma huffs. “Spoken like a true machine.” Her gaze drifts down to Armitage as he stands next to Kylo, her long cape puddled around him on the floor, partially draped over his shoulders.

“Do you want your blanket back?” Armitage asks, tugging at the black material.

Phasma squats down. “No. You keep it, Armie. It looks better on you.”

Armitage giggles. “Thank you!”

“Come on,” Kylo says, picking Armitage up, supporting the boy’s weight by folding his arms underneath him. Armitage, like always, wraps one of his arms around Kylo’s neck, keeping his toy ship and bag of candy pressed between them.

“Bye, Armitage,” Phasma says. “It was nice to meet you. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Christine, thank you for the blanket,” he says, resting his cheek on Kylo’s shoulder.

Phasma smiles, though it fades when she looks to Kylo. “I’m serious, Ren. If there’s anything I can do to help, contact me. Hux…he’s _my_ friend too.”

Kylo doesn’t reply, biting his tongue, restraining himself from giving her an angered comment about how he’s managed to care for the boy for this long, that he needs _no_ sort of help from anyone to ensure that Hux is alright.

Kylo chastises himself; ‘that _Armitage_ is alright’.

He doesn’t care for Hux. Armitage is only a child who can’t fend for himself. Kylo is only doing this because the boy would likely put himself in harm’s way if Kylo weren’t here to supervise him. If Hux had merely sustained a broken limb after being captured rather than being deaged, Kylo knows he wouldn’t have cared for Hux like this.

But that was _before_ Kylo became aware of the hardships that moulded an innocent boy into his father’s weapon.

Little Armitage may not currently be _Hux,_ but Kylo has a growing feeling that _Hux_ still has little Armitage cowering inside his soul somewhere, begging for approval, craving to be held, to be protected from nightmares.

As they make their way back to Kylo’s quarters, Kylo wonders whether he too will consider Hux a friend if he returns to his rightful age.

_If._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, imagining little Armitage with Phasma's cape around his shoulders melts my heart. 
> 
> Also, whilst chatting with the glorious [@the-glasses-are-my-disguise](http://the-glasses-are-my-disguise.tumblr.com/), she made a wonderful comment about little Armitage that is so perfect. _['He’s delicate, but not weak. Resilient like a sparrow rather than weak like a twig.'](http://solohux.tumblr.com/post/151157907089/you-have-no-idea-how-much-i-love-little-bird)_ ABSOLUTE PERFECTION ❤️
> 
> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	5. Chapter 5

_"There was once an Ewok called Ebyt, who lived deep in the forest, high in the tall trees in a small house—”_

“How did they get the house in the tree?”

Kylo lowers the book down from in front of his face, blinking at Armitage’s question. The boy blinks, waiting for Kylo to answer his _very_ important question.

Kylo wriggles on the couch, shifting Armitage's weight into a comfier spot. He lies flat on his back on the couch, his knees bent with Armitage straddled over his stomach, wearing his favourite green jumper and black trousers, listening to Kylo read to him. He’d picked the story for Kylo to read, the one entitled ‘ _Ebyt the Ewok_ ’ with a picture of a forest on the front cover with a brown, furry Ewok waving its paw to the reader.

“They built the house in the tree,” Kylo says, turning the little book around to show Armitage the picture. “See? It’s a treehouse.”

“Oh. Okay,” Armitage replies, settling back against Kylo’s legs, cuddling his toy Star Destroyer close to his chest, waiting for Kylo to continue.

Kylo clears his throat.

_“Ebyt had a lot of friends in the forest. He liked to play games with them, like hide-and-seek, and hunt for food with them. But one day, when he was looking for some delicious berries on his own, he found something odd.”_

Armitage gasps. “What did he find, Ren?”

Kylo chuckles.

“If you let me keep reading, I’ll tell you. _Something round and speckled sat in the tall grass, hidden from everyone. It was an egg, small and alone. Ebyt had only seen them in nests in the trees and he felt puzzled. Why was this egg on the ground—?”_

“Because it’s fallen out of the tree!” Armitage exclaims with a proud nod of his head, like a detective realising the answer to the most convoluted mystery of the century.

“Are you going to make a comment about everything I read?” Kylo says, reaching up to gently touch the end of Armitage’s nose. The boy giggles, scrunching his nose up, rubbing it with the back of his hand.

“Keep going,” Armitage says, pressing the book closer to Kylo’s face, encouraging him to keep reading.

Kylo rolls his eyes, but continues nonetheless. 

_“Ebyt picked up the egg in his soft paws and carried it back to his house, being very careful not to drop it or be too rough with it. When he arrived home, he put the egg down on a soft pillow, making sure that it was comfy and safe. And then, he waited. And waited. And waited, until the little egg began to wobble—”_

“Ren! It’s hatching! What’s inside?” Armitage leans forward, his little nose peering over the top of the book. Kylo stifles his chuckle.

_“The top of the egg cracked and Ebyt heard a quiet chirping noise coming from inside. A little beak pushed the top of the egg off and Ebyt could see the baby inside. A little bird, small and covered in black feathers, cheeped as it looked around._

_‘Hello,’ Ebyt said quietly. ‘I’m Ebyt, where do you come from?’_

_‘Cheep cheep,’ the little bird said. 'I’ve lost my mother. Can you help me find her?’”_

Despite knowing that it’s a children’s book, Kylo can’t help but frown at the notion of a newborn bird talking as though it’s been schooled in language. He’s sure baby birds are featherless too; he knows the lack of scientific accuracy of the book would make Hux ask him to stop reading this ridiculous book and find something with more _fact_. But he looks at Armitage, whose eyes are sparkling at the story, and Kylo supposes that stranger things have happened than a baby bird being born _with_ feathers. 

_“Ebyt smiled. ‘Of course I can help! I will take you to the place where I found you and we shall see if we can find your mother.’_

_‘Cheep cheep, thank you Mr Ebyt!’ The little bird said, flapping its wings as it hopped out of the egg and into Ebyt’s fluffy, warm palms._

_The pair of new friends made their way towards where Ebyt had found the egg, deep in the forest where no one usually goes. The bird stayed warm in Ebyt’s paws_ —What is it, Armitage?”

Kylo looks up to see a frown on the boy’s face but is refraining from interrupting.

“Why can’t the little bird just fly to its mother?” He asks, tilting his head inquisitively, his eyes wide with wonder.

“Because the little bird can’t fly yet,” Kylo says, his tone soft. “It has to spend some time with its mother so she can make sure it's safe before it can learn to fly on its own.”

But Armitage’s expression only turns sadder, his eyes suddenly losing their curiosity, replaced with heartache.

“But what if the little bird doesn’t have a mother?” The boy asks, cuddling his toy closer to him. “Does that mean Ebyt will have to teach it how to fly?”

Kylo feels his heart flutter in his chest.

“I’m sure Ebyt would help the bird to fly,” Kylo says. “But we don’t know that they won’t be able to find the little bird’s mother yet. Come on.”

Moving the book out of the way for a moment, Armitage lies down flat on Kylo, his ear pressed against his chest, squirming to get comfortable. Kylo grunts as Armitage’s knee digs right into a soft spot of his stomach but Armitage is too busy trying find the most comfortable spot. Once the boy is still, Kylo opens the book again, holding it where both he and Armitage can see it, and continues reading.

_“The forest was bright and warm as Ebyt carried the little bird through it. Every few steps, Ebyt stopped to check on the bird, to make sure that he was okay. After walking for quite some time, the pair happen upon the same spot where Ebyt had found the little bird’s egg. But this time, they found something new. A large black bird, feathers soft and delicate, stood in the spot where the egg was, chirping worriedly._

_‘My baby,’ the mother bird cooed, flapping her wings excitedly. ‘You’re safe!’_

_Ebyt smiled and lowered the little bird back down to his mother, and he hopped to her, nestling into her chest of thick feathers._

_‘Cheep cheep! I thought I was lost, Mama,’ the little bird said, ‘but Ebyt helped me find you. He kept me safe! Can he come home with us, Mama?”_

_Ebyt chuckled. ‘I must be going back home now, little bird, and you must stay with your mother. But I will visit you every day,’ Ebyt says, giving the little bird a gentle pat on its head._

_‘Goodbye, Ebyt,” the little bird said, flapping its small wings. ‘Thank you for saving me!’_

_‘Goodbye, little bird,’ Ebyt replied with a polite bow. ‘I will see you soon.’_

_And the two new friends parted ways but Ebyt keeps his promise and to this day, he still goes back to see the little bird, to watch him grow, to watch him learn to fly on his own._

_Ebyt is proud of his little bird._

_The end.”_

Kylo exhales slowly and closes the book, setting it down on the low table next to them. He angles his head so he can see Armitage’s expression, though the boy doesn’t look as sad as he had done a few minutes ago. He lies still on Kylo’s chest, his small fingers grasping at the material of Kylo’s black shirt.

“I liked that story,” Armitage says, turning his head, digging his chin into Kylo’s chest.

Kylo’s lips curve into a smile at one end, seeing the natural wonder return to the boy’s pale green eyes, though he can’t help but speculate _why_ there isn’t any wonder in General Hux’s eyes. He supposes it’s a harsh result of the constant belittlement on his father’s part, or feeling inadequate in comparison to other officers, or simply not being allowed to have a _wondrous_ childhood. He imagines the _real_ little Armitage, the _real_ childhood of General Hux, being filled with mundane tasks and rigorous testing. No fun, no friends, no love.

Kylo clears his throat, knowing that Hux lacks those three things too.

“There’s still a few hours before your dinner. What else do you want to do?” Kylo says, giving in to his urge to run his fingers soothingly through Armitage’s hair, feeling as though it’s something that Brendol had never done. He strokes the boy’s head, remembering what Phasma had said about Hux’s need for attention, but he pushes those thoughts way quickly, not wanting to linger too long on the man he’s supposed to hate, that he _used to_ hate.

Now, Kylo isn’t so sure. 

“Can I draw?” Armitage asks after making a curious humming sound for a few seconds, eyeing the box of crayons and pens that sit on Kylo’s desk from where he’d been sat drawing pictures all morning.

“If that’s what you want,” Kylo says.

Before Armitage can climb off of him, Kylo grabs hold of him and stands up, holding the boy upside-down in his arms, using the Force to ensure that his hold is tight. Armitage laughs, letting his arms hand floppily by his ears. Kylo smiles at the sound of Armitage’s giggles, but his smile quickly fades, realising that this is the first time that he’s heard Hux laugh. He even finds himself wondering when the General last laughed; likely, a long time ago. 

With a gentle playfulness, Kylo turns Armitage the right way up and sets him down on one of the two chairs at the small desk, round in shape with a dark top. It’s pristinely clean, like its surface has hardly been touched. Kylo barely uses it; it’s not as though as though he has any paperwork to file or formal business to attend to. He sometimes eats his meals at it, but as he sits in the other chair next to Armitage, he thinks how nice it’d be to have company during his mealtimes. 

Armitage grabs the box of brightly coloured crayons and a piece of paper and begins to draw, his tongue peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he concentrates. Kylo watches him quietly, his elbow resting on the table, chin in his palm; he’d believed General Hux to be right-handed, yet Armitage is scribbling away with the blue crayon held confidently in his left.

‘ _Another puzzle piece to the mystery of General Armitage Hux,_ ’ Kylo thinks.

“Ren,” Armitage says, pushing paper and an orange crayon closer to Kylo. Kylo looks at him with a frown. “You draw too. See? Like this.”

Armitage draws a sun in the corner of his paper with a yellow crayon, adding rays around it, then looking back to Kylo with a matter-of-factly expression. Kylo smiles, deciding to do as he’s told for once, and begins drawing on the paper, making squiggly lines all over the page in a random pattern before switching colours, drawing red, interlocking lines over the orange ones he’s already drawn. He sighs, finding an odd calming sensation spreading through his chest, the same calm that he usually only feels when he’s concentrating on the candle in his meditation chamber. Seeing the colours complimenting one another on the page, the lines entwining with sleek movements, is seemingly making him forget about the turmoil that he feels inside his veins. With soft eyes, he glances over to Armitage, seeing the boy just as relaxed as he glides his crayons across the paper.

“What are you drawing?” Kylo asks, continuing his own colouring in. 

“A house,” Armitage says without taking his eyes off of his paper. “I want to have a house when I grow up. A house with lots of toys and a big garden where it's always warm.”

"Isn't your house that you live in now warm?"

Armitage shakes his head. "It's empty. Nanna says that Father had to take us away from our real home when the bad people tried to hurt us so we have to live somewhere else. But I go to school for a lot of the day." 

 _'Five years old and already being fed fake gospels about the Empire_ ,' Kylo thinks. 

Despite there being no hint of sadness to Armitage’s tone, more disgust than distress, Kylo feels his stomach tie into a knot, imagining the boy shivering in a cold bed, alone, with no one to comfort him when he has _another_ distressing nightmare. 

Kylo is beginning to think that it's lucky for Brendol Hux that he's _already_ dead. 

There's a sudden and abrupt knock on the door of Kylo's quarters and he stands, opening it with the Force when he gets halfway towards it, sliding it open to reveal Phasma standing there in her chromed magnificence, her helmet under her arm. 

"Apologies for disturbing you, sir," she says. "But two of your knights are currently docking in the hangar and are requesting an urgent meeting with you." 

"Christine!" Armitage yells, leaping off the chair and bounding towards Phasma. 

She squats down and picks him up, giggling at him. Kylo can't help a pang of jealously spreading through his chest, making his fingers twitch. But as Kylo begins thinking of his knights, he remembers Armitage's timid reaction the last time he was in the presence of his knights, cowering behind Kylo's leg like a spooked animal. 

"Can you stay here? With him, I mean," Kylo says. "He doesn't like their masks. I'd rather not put him through the distress." 

"Of course. Sir." Phasma tickles Armitage's cheek and he laughs as she sets him down. Kylo kneels down, speaking softly. 

"You'll be alright with Pha-- _Christine_ for a while, won't you, Armitage? I have somewhere I need to go.” 

"Can't I come?" Armitage says placing his palms on Kylo's cheeks as he likes to, and Kylo smiles. 

"I have to go and see my knights. _Remember_? You didn't like them last time, did you?" 

Armitage shakes his head, patting Kylo's cheeks. "No. One of them had a scary face." 

Kylo exhales, content that the boy knowing that Kylo is going somewhere that he doesn't like will make him feel all right about with staying with Phasma. Stretching out gently with the Force, Kylo picks up on Armitage’s calmness, and Kylo himself feels content with leaving him.

"Alright then. I'll be back soon," Kylo says, ruffling Armitage's hair into a mess of fluff before he stands up, turning his attention to Phasma. His expressions turns stern, scrunching his nose. "If he needs _anything—_ "

"—Then I'll contact you _immediately_. He'll be fine, Ren," Phasma smiles, nodding confidently. "Go. Your knights have been told to wait in Conference Room 4A on the lower deck." 

Kylo gives one solemn nod to her in thanks, though he can’t prevent his gaze from slowly trailing to Armitage, seeing the boy staring up at him with his pale green eyes, a light blush on his chubby, freckled cheeks. For the first time since Hux has become _Armitage,_ Kylo sees nothing but happiness in his face, an untamed complacency with the potential to disturb Kylo’s mental balance if he focuses too hard on Armitage’s raw emotion.

And for the first time since they’d met, _Kylo_ feels happy that _Hux_ is happy.

After putting on his boots and his long, outer robes, Kylo leaves his quarters with a strong and confident stride towards the conference room where his knights await, likely with news that they’ve found something promising about the ritual. But Kylo’s stride soon falters, realising that _good_ news from his knights would mean _bad_ news for him: Hux returns to his rightful age and Kylo _loses_ little Armitage.

But Kylo stops those thoughts in their tracks, halting them sharply with a reinforcing of his mental barriers, cutting them off from his emotions, stopping them from compromising him.

He can’t afford to even _think_ about losing Armitage right now.

The door to Conference Room 4A swishes open as Kylo approaches, opening to reveal Eon Ren standing against the far wall, gazing out of the ceiling-to-floor window. Her helmet rests on the table next to a messy pile of papers, facing Kylo as he enters. Her sharp, blue gaze falls upon him as he steps closer to her, brushing her hand through the non-shaven part of her hair.

“Master,” she greets him, turning to face him, a datapad in her hand. “I have news.”

Kylo frowns. “Where is Atlan?”

“He’s been struggling with an unknown illness,” Eon says, worry in her tone. “He wanted to come here to help deliver our findings but he thought it best to stay on board our ship in the hangar rather than spread his illness to your crew.”

“Very well,” Kylo says, suppressing his worry about his knight. Perhaps it’s something linked to the ritual, or _another_ form of dark magic cast on him to prevent him from getting to the truth. Either way, Kylo can't help but feel they're running out of time against an unknown enemy. “What have you found?”

Eon turns to the table and pulls her fingerless gloves on tighter, taking out one of the notebooks from the messy pile of papers, her nimble fingers flicking through the pages, looking for something specific.

“We found a Sith holocron,” she says, opening a double page spread of the notebook, flattening it onto the desk. She points to her drawings, etched onto the parchment paper in dark pencil. It depicts a pyramid shape covered in strange markings that look similar to the ones found on Hux’s body. “It took a substantial amount of effort to open, but Master, we managed to decipher the symbols you gave us.”

Kylo listens intensely, his gaze flicking from Eon’s notebook to her face, seeing a proud shine in her light eyes.

“And?” Kylo says, eyes scanning the page for answers.

“It’s the native Sith language of the people of Ziost and Korriban, so we delved into their lore until we could find exact translations of their language into Standard. The symbols say ‘ _Woyunoks’._ ” She wraps her tongue easily around the pronunciation of the ancient word, her finger following along her notes to where she’d written the word down. “It means… _‘little one’._ And the three interlocking triangles that you said were painted onto the General’s chest? They’re a universal symbol of youth. But the amount of natural Dark Force energy that the temple on Dromund Kaas holds must’ve played a massive part in the regression.”

Kylo’s mind is sent into a tizzy, trying to keep up with the information that Eon is relaying to him.

_Little One._

At least he knows for certain that it’s some sort of age regression ritual and not a residual effect of another experiment with a far more sinister purpose.

“What about _a reverse?_ A _cure_?” Kylo asks though there’s a part of him that wishes he _hadn’t_ asked.

Eon shrugs, but nods. “I believe such a thing exists, Master. With a spell like this, reciting the right incantation in the right environment would likely reverse the victim’s state…but that’s when Atlan’s health seriously deteriorated and our search came to an abrupt halt.”

Kylo tries not to show too much disappointment in his sigh. Of course, the health of his knights come _before_ General Hux… _of course._

“At least we have _something_ to base our search around,” Kylo says, brushing his fingers softly against the word ‘W _oyunoks’_ on the page. He clears his throat, pulling is hand away from the paper. “Continue your search when Atlan is recovered. Tell him that he is welcome to use the medical facilities on board whilst the two of you are here.”

“Yes, Master Ren,” Eon says with a slight bow. “Though, he is stubborn and has already told me that he shall combat the illness with his own powers.”

Kylo resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Fine. If that’s what he wants.” He turns to leave and Eon begins packing her papers back into a pile. He sees countless drawings and notes scribbled on the paper, things circled and crossed out. Clearly, his knight has gone to more than enough trouble with this mission. “Eon…thank you for your help.”

She looks up at him, a faint hint of a smile on her thin lips.

“You’re welcome,” she says, a genuineness to her tone.

Kylo gratuitously nods at her in response, knowing that she’s going to be one of the finest knights that any Ren has ever seen.

As he leaves her to find her own way back to her ship, Kylo’s thoughts turn back to Armitage as he walks back to his quarters, wondering what sort of mess his rooms will be in after leaving Phasma in charge of his mischievous little friend. The door to his quarters swishes open as he stands in front of it but instead of finding crayon all over his walls like he’d expected, Kylo’s heart sinks at the scene before him.

The room is in complete disarray; furniture tipped over and glass from the ceiling lights smashed into thousands of shards all over the floor. Phasma is lying with her back against the far wall, cuts on her face, unconscious. There’s a lingering darkness in the air, and Kylo fears the _worst._

He slides on his knees across the floor to Phasma, shaking her awake with a strong hand on her shoulder. A small moan escapes her lips as she’s roused back to consciousness by Kylo’s vicious shaking.

“Where’s Armitage?” Kylo asks angrily, wanting an answer _quickly._

“He took him…I’m sorry, Ren. I've failed,” she replies, gritting her teeth.

“ _Who?_ Quickly, Phasma!”

“A man in a mask. I don’t _know_! He overpowered me with the Force, I couldn’t stop him. Armie. _He took Armie.”_

The Force suddenly calls Kylo’s attention to something else, making him turn towards the door as everything seemingly moves in slow motion, all sounds being drowned out except the sounds of Armitage’s cries coming from the lower decks.

“ _Ren!”_ The boy cries, his panicked voice echoing throughout Kylo’s mind. It’s as though Kylo can actually see him, tossed over the shoulder of a figure clad entirely in black, their mask obscured by their hood. Armitage squirms in the man’s grip, his eyes teary and desperate. “ _Ren!”_

When everything returns to its normal speed, Kylo is quick to find his feet and calling his lightsaber to his hand, running faster than he’s ever moved before, following the echoing trail of the boy’s voice in his mind. His heart pounds in his ears, the Force is dark and ready at his fingertips, waiting to unleash the entirety of his power on whoever has been foolish enough to steal Armitage away from him. Much too suddenly, the trail is shut off and the air turns cold as Kylo skids to a halt in the hangar bay, watching as the hooded figure carries the unconscious boy onto an unfamiliar shuttle, parked right in the centre of their hangar. With the remaining strength left in his legs, Kylo leaps across crates and stretches out both of his palms when he stops, digging his heels in the floor in anticipation of the next few moments.

The ship freezes in mid-air, halfway out of the hangar, its engines revving but held in place by Kylo and his tremendous powers. He grunts, gritting his teeth, trying to summon every ounce of darkness inside his veins to control the escaping ship.

‘ _I can’t lose him,’_ Kylo thinks, hoping that the feelings of loss and anger will fuel his powers.

The ship beings to slowly move backwards and Kylo snarls in defiance, already planning on how he’s going to rip the culprit’s limbs off for this. But his mind is attacked suddenly, like a cold needle is being pushed into the front of his skull and his concentration slips, his hands moving to try and protect the point on his forehead.

“No!” He cries out as the ship pulls away from his Force-grip, taking flight, narrowly escaping through Kylo’s fingers.

Ignoring the overwhelming pain in his mind, Kylo staggers as quickly as he can to his own Command Shuttle, boarding and taking off before he’s even sat down in the pilot’s seat.

“Flight Tower One, this is Kylo Ren, I’m in pursuit of an unknown ship,” he says, flicking switches on his navigation console as he follows the shuttle into the darkness of space. “I need to know its coordinates. Now.”

 _“We read you, sir,”_ a male voice chimes back. “ _We’re accessing its navigation systems as we speak. Permission to fire upon enemy, sir?”_

 _“_ No! No. Hold your fire. There’s…precious cargo on board the ship that we can’t afford to damage,” Kylo responds, keeping his gaze firmly locked on the ship in front of him at it weaves about in space, shooting lasers at him, but having Anakin Skywalker’s blood in his veins means dodging lasers is child’s play.

“ _Transmitting the enemy’s coordinates to your ship now, sir. Do you require back-up?”_

“No,” he mutters, scrunching his nose up in disgust. “I need to handle this alone.”

He cuts the frequency between him and the _Finalizer,_ his console beeping as the coordinates of the enemy’s destination are transmitted to him. Kylo swallows hard, recognising the series of numbers. Regardless of his rising fear, he activates the hyperdrive and follows the ship carrying _his_ Armitage into light speed.

_To Dromund Kaas._

_///////////////////_

The planet is exactly as Kylo remembers; an unrelenting darkness in the air, _dripping_ with the promise of power. With no helmet this time, Kylo can feels the humidity on the bare skin of his face, feeling a blush appear on his cheeks from its force. But his long and strong steps towards the Dark Force Temple do not falter. Not _once_ does he stop to bathe in the negative energy that surrounds him, tempting him to succumb to its clutches.

Armitage _needs_ him.

The Dark Force Temple looms over him, blocking out the light from the arising moon. Like last time, the protectors of the temple lie dead at the door. The Vornskr, canine animals who used the Force to hunt, with sleek black skin and claws like razors, lie slaughtered by the door, their bodies decaying, releasing a potent stench into the air. Clearly, they’re the same beasts that Kylo saw the first time around, the largest one crumpled near the door, its paw covered in dried blood that isn’t its own.

Kylo pays them no mind.

He enters the temple, his eyes being drawn straight to the little redhead sat upon the altar where Kylo had first found Hux with those strange markings on his body. Armitage looks unharmed, still in the green jumper and soft black pants that Kylo had dressed him in this morning, his outfit complete with his little black boots on his feet.  

“Ren!” Armitage shouts happily, leaping off of the stone structure and running towards Kylo with his arms out.

Kylo sweeps him up, embracing the boy tightly, cradling the back of his head with his large hand. He lets out a sigh of relief, overwhelmed with happiness that Hux is _safe._

“Are you hurt?” Kylo asks, scanning the boy’s body.

“No, ‘m fine,” Armitage says, shaking his head, though he’s trembling a little, likely out of fear from being ripped from the ship that he’s come to know.

“Come on, we’re going home,” Kylo says with a harsh tone, shifting the boy’s weight, holding him closer to him, removing his cowl and wrapping it around the boy’s body like a blanket.

But suddenly, the walls of the temple begin to tremble, and Armitage whimpers at the heavy sound. Rocks begin to fall and Kylo takes steps backwards as stones barricade the door, _the only exit,_ blocking their escape. They’re piled thick and high, expertly so, as though someone was controlling them with the Force.

The sounds of heavy footsteps echo across the emptiness of the main room, filling the silence, filling Kylo’s chest with a fierce combination of fear and anger. The hooded man steps out from one of the antechambers to the right, and lowers his cowl down from over his face.

“Leaving so soon, _Master Ren?”_

Kylo freezes, his blood runs cold.

“…Atlan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOOH BETREYAL o(≧o≦)o
> 
> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an aside, I've been doing some looking around and I've come up with faceclaims for Atlan & Eon, if you're interested!
> 
> So, Atlan is a [young Al Pacino ❤️](https://fashcampull-fashcamcorp1.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Al-Pacino-by-Irving-Penn-New-York-1995.jpg)  
> & Eon is [Cassie Ventura ❤️](http://strayhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/cassie-shaved-undercuts-hair-designs.jpg)
> 
> Anyway! Enjoy this super non-angsty chapter! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

A million questions run back and forth through Kylo’s mind as he stands opposite Atlan, the Dark Side crackling around them both like invisible fireworks, waiting for one of them to make the first strike against the other. Armitage snuggles into Kylo’s chest, his cheek resting on Kylo’s shoulder, the cowl around his small body like a shield.

“This whole time,” Kylo says, wrapping his arms tighter around Armitage. “It was you. _You._ Traitor _.”_

Atlan tuts mockingly. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? I’ve done nothing against you, _Master,”_ the man sneers, spitting out Kylo’s title with venom, using it as though it’s an insult rather than a show of his power.

He moves to stand on the other side of the altar, running his gloved finger across its stone surface, his steely-grey eyes looking down on it for a moment before casting his gaze back up to Kylo.

“It’s _power_ that matters most to us, isn’t it, Kylo? It’s what the Dark Side promised to us,” Atlan says, pretending to frown. He stands upright, his fist held up and clenched, directing his speech upwards to the ceiling, to where the moon can be seen through a hole in the roof. “ _Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains will be broken. The Force shall free me.”_

“There aren’t any chains around you, Atlan. Nor I, or the Supreme Leader, have ever tried to tie you down,” Kylo spits, unwilling to take blame for one of his knights going rogue.

“Ah. So self-centred, aren’t we, young Kylo?” Atlan chuckles, and Kylo scowls. “I wasn’t talking about you. I was referring to the chains of death. Of _mortality!”_

Atlan roars the last word up to the heavens in an angered and fierce tone, making the pebbles on the ground tremble. Armitage whimpers, curling in on himself as much as he can in Kylo’s arms, shaking with fear.

“Those are chains we all have to succumb to,” Kylo says.

“The lesser of us, yes. But I have found a way to achieve _im_ mortality, a way to remain forever young,” his gaze turns sharp, reaching his hand out, opening his palm. “The ancient Sith were a marvellous group of individuals, you know. Obsessed with finding ways to preserve life. A few succeeded, though not in the long-term. My research led me to the _Woyunoks ritual._ _A powerful spell that requires a commitment to the Dark Side and the right incantation being read in a Dark Side nexus. Like this.”_ He gestures to the temple, taking a long inhale through his nose as he closes his eyes, as though attempting to fill the entirety of his senses with the Dark.

“Ren? I don’t like it here,” Armitage whispers, clutching on tightly to the front of Kylo’s robes.

“Ssh,” Kylo hushes, smoothing his hand through the boy’s red hair, pulling the cowl tighter around his small body for more warmth. “You’re alright. We’re going home soon.” He turns his gaze back to Atlan, scrunching his nose in disgust.

Atlan waves his forefinger from side to side, flicking his dark hair back from his face.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave with him,” he says, looking back down to the stone altar in front of him. “I was unsure of whether the ritual would be a success, and _obviously_ I didn’t want to try it out on myself if death would be the outcome, so I needed a test subject. And, well, I’d heard you speak about General Hux’s mission to Danchi VII so I decided to intercept him. After all, the First Order wouldn’t miss a runt like him should the ritual have decided to rip his life from him, hmm?”

For a brief second, Kylo’s mouth opens to reply with something equally as venomous but quickly clamps his lips closed to halt his own voice. Atlan is insulting _Hux,_ the man who Kylo has held an overbearing hatred for since the day they were first introduced…But Kylo looks down at Armitage, his green eyes filled with fear, and suddenly he’s back in Brendol Hux’s office, thrown back into the depths of Armitage’s nightmare, hearing the harsh words of the Commandant spat at his own son.

‘ _Ungrateful runt’,_ Brendol had said. Armitage had cowered, tiny hands shaking, the same tiny hands that like to pat themselves against Kylo’s cheeks, the same tiny hands that are desperately clutching onto the front of Kylo’s robes in search of protection, and the same tiny hands that are going to grow up into Hux’s hands that are still seeking out someone to hold onto.  

The sound of Atlan’s heavy footsteps approaching them forces Kylo’s attention back to the present, looking up to see his knight moving towards him slowly, hand outstretched towards Armitage. The boy whimpers in fear, curling in as close to Kylo’s warm chest as he can.

“Now,” Atlan says, looking down his nose at the pair. “I’m in need of my test subject back.”

Kylo _snarls,_ cradling Armitage’s head in his palm. “You’re not laying another finger on him as long as I’m here.”

Atlan chuckles, flicking his robe back, revealing his lightsaber attached to his belt. He calls it to his hand, igniting the single, red blade that thrums strongly amongst the powerful air in the temple.

“That can be fixed.”

There’s a strong aura flickering around Atlan’s body, one that would intimidate any other being in the galaxy. But not Kylo. As he sets Armitage down on the floor, he ensures his cowl is wrapped around his shoulders, imagining a bubble around the boy’s body, protecting him, keeping him safe from Atlan’s menacing motives.

“Ren?” Armitage asks, small fingers twisting in the hem of his jumper. His hand reaches out to grasp hold of Kylo’s long robes, but Kylo shakes his head.

“Stay back, Armitage,” Kylo says softly before turning back towards Atlan, his own lightsaber suddenly in his palm, hilt grasped tightly as it ignites, plasma crackling to life. “This won’t take long.”

Atlan chuckles. “Last chance, _master,”_ he sneers, turning his nose up at the man he was meant to follow _._ He holds his lightsaber out, end pointed directly towards Kylo’s chest. “Give the boy back to me. Or else.”

“He’s not yours,” Kylo replies coldly before swinging his saber to clash with Atlan’s, pushing it away from his chest.

They begin to duel, though Kylo remains latched onto Armitage’s mind, ensuring that the boy is well out of Atlan’s hold, that he’s safe and away from their battle.

Despite them training together, Atlan’s style of combat is a little more robust than Kylo’s; more controlled, less haphazard. Kylo has always opted for a berserker form, hacking and slashing at whatever he can get at, overconfidently using only one hand grasped around the sword. Atlan comes at him with a two-handed approach, but Kylo deflects his aim upwards and away from his body, leaving Atlan’s stomach open for a quick swipe of Kylo’s blade.

Atlan cries out, staggering back for a panicked second before he regains his sense of balance and, ignoring the pain of the cut, advances back towards Kylo and their blades meeting in a strong lock between their bodies. Kylo grunts, attempting to show his strength but pushing Atlan’s lightsaber back towards him, but both men are seemingly equally matched. Looking up, Kylo sees the cold emptiness in Atlan’s grey eyes, devoid of any emotion but the desire for power.

“That _boy_ has made you soft, Kylo,” Atlan says, gesturing with his head towards where Armitage is huddled in on himself against the side of the stone altar. “He’s clouding your judgement. And you’re allowing him to _rule_ you.”

“You’re blinded by your lust for power,” Kylo retorts. “There’s more to the Dark Side than such prestige.”

Kylo know that attachments are strictly prohibited by the Jedi Order but the Supreme Leader has never given him reason to believe that the same rules apply to him now that he's rid himself of the Light, though Kylo supposes that his master may not approve of his new attachment to the little red-haired boy, to the General he's supposed to be in competition with. 

Attachments are supposed to make individuals weaker, give them a pressure point for others to exploit, make them lose focus from the peace of the Force. But there's no doubt in his mind that the feelings of protectiveness and _admiration_ that surge through his veins every time he catches the boy's lonely and lost gaze make Kylo stronger. 

"You forget yourself," Atlan says, and pushes Kylo away from him, breaking their stance, standing opposite one another with sabers still hissing. "You've spoken many times about your hatred for Armitage Hux, your desire to convince the Supreme Leader that that slimy sycophant should be demoted for his weakness. Don't you remember?"

“I..." Kylo's words fall away, stuck in his throat. He turns, looking to Armitage, seeing his green eyes filled with tears. 

"Why does he know my name?" Armitage says, fists tucked under his chin as though trying to keep himself warm. "...Ren?"

Kylo swallows hard. 

"He hates you, my boy," Atlan says with a cocky chuckle, swinging his sword around, aiming his words at Armitage. "Everything you're going to be, everything you're going to do, even the way you're going to look. Thin. _Weak_. Completely pathetic. A perfect image of what a hopeless failure looks like."

"Stop it," Kylo growls. "It isn't true. He's..." 

"Your friend? _Please_ ," Atlan scoffs. "The Master of Ren has no friends. No family. No attachments. It's a life of loneliness, sworn to protect the teachings of those before them." Atlan raises his saber offensively, preparing the most ferocious of battle stances. "You're weak, Kylo. Just like the _baby_ over there. Once you're out of the way, I shall take great joy in plucking every single red hair from his head until I _get_ what I _want_." 

With an angered cry, Kylo leaps forward, slashing at Atlan with all his might, determined to strike him down for his monstrous words. He feels the Force crackle around him, almost cowering in his wake, buzzing at his fingertips, waiting to be used to deliver the punishment that Atlan deserves for even thinking of bringing harm to little Armitage. Kylo keeps on lunging, hammering his sword down upon Atlan's without fear and without hesitation until he's completely consumed with rage, bubbling in his veins, painting his vision completely red. 

" _You won't touch him_ ," Kylo roars, a dark timbre to his voice, stones rattling at his feet from the strength of his anger. 

Atlan is suddenly on the defensive, backing away with panicked steps as Kylo advances, his unstable blade crackling furiously as his battering becomes relentless. With rageful strikes, Kylo makes cuts across Atlan’s body, making deep wounds to match the one already on his stomach and, even as Atlan stumbles back and falls to the ground, holding his sword crossed in front of him in protection, Kylo doesn’t stop pummelling down as hard as he can, thinking of nothing but death.

“Ren, stop!”

The desperately scared voice of little Armitage snaps Kylo out of his fury, his lightsaber in the air, halted mid-swing as he feels familiar fingers grasping the material of his trousers, holding on tight.

“No more, _please._ I don’t like you like this,” Armitage cries, hugging Kylo’s leg, rubbing his cheek against his pants.

Kylo exhales slowly as a strange wave of dizziness momentarily distracts him, making the room spin, but he manages to collect himself once he hears the soft sounds of Armitage’s sobs. Kylo looks down at his lightsaber, plasma looking as unstable as ever, and deactivates it, dropping it to the floor as he loosens his grip on the cold hilt.

“I’m sorry,” Kylo whispers, kneeling down to Armitage’s level, taking the boy’s trembling body into his arms. He remembers the first night that he’d spent with Armitage, the _very_ first night that he’d appeared in Hux’s quarters. He remembers how he’d raised his voice and Armitage had _cowered,_ shaking, fearful of Kylo, exactly like he is now.

Armitage snuggles into Kylo’s chest, clutching the front of his robes as he cries, tears streaming down his chubby and freckled cheeks.

“It’s over, it’s alright,” Kylo says softly, hugging the boy close, cradling his head with his hand. “You’re safe, Armitage. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Y-you didn’t sound good,” Armitage says, muffled. “You didn’t sound like my Ren.”

_My Ren._

Kylo feels something tugging at his heart, something knotting his stomach, bringing a well of tears to his eyes. He stays holding Armitage for a few more seconds before realising that he’s got to let go. He gives Armitage’s head one last nuzzle before he stands, towering over the injured Atlan.

“The ritual,” Kylo says, being mindful to keep his tone clear of darkness. “Tell me how to reverse it.”

Atlan laughs extravagantly. “There’s _no_ reverse. No _cure._ Your bastard child is stuck like that for the remainder of his sad life.”

With a completely neutral expression, Kylo lifts his hand, contorting his fingers inwards agonisingly slowly, crushing Atlan’s windpipe.

Still, the traitorous knight chuckles. “Your threats mean nothing, Kylo.” He spits in Kylo’s direction, a mix of blood and saliva, but Kylo doesn’t falter.

Silently, he brings his other hand up, fingers completely straight, free from the absent tremble that’s haunted him over the past few days. With a forceful push, he enters Atlan’s mind, bringing forth his most toxic memories for hellish recollection.

“N-no,” Atlan murmurs, angered, panicking, body twisting on the floor.

“Tell me how to change him back,” Kylo presses, rooting for one specific memory, for Atlan’s one weakness that he knows will make him bend to his will.

“You _can’t,_ ” Atlan gasps through gritted teeth, but Kylo has already brought Atlan’s most painful memory to the forefront of his mind.

Images of a village ablaze spreads across Atlan’s mind, vivid and _real,_ screams to be heard from its inhabitants. Terrified cries from a little girl suddenly fill the remaining space of the knight’s consciousness and he breaks, tears cascading down from the corners of his eyes.

“ _Master_ , stop! Please! I’ll tell you, I’ll help you, just make her screams stop. _Please,”_ Atlan begs, covering his ears and scrunching his eyes closed. Kylo lets the torture go on for a second or two longer before releasing his hold on the man he once trusted, their friendship left in tatters by betrayal.

Atlan breathes raggedly, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “It’s a specific incantation. A series of words that are the opposite of what was uttered the first time. S-set him on the altar. I-I swear I’ll help.”

And in that moment, Kylo feels every fibre of his being stopping him from moving, from even twitching a finger. He can’t do this, he can’t let Armitage disappear like this. The boy has become Kylo’s focus, the face he looks towards to find peace, the little hands that keep him grounded with himself…but he’s supposed to just _let go?_ Let the General reassume control so they can go back to _hating_ one another?

“Ren?”

Kylo looks down, seeing Armitage pull at his robes to get his attention. Kylo kneels down, sitting back on his legs. The boy looks confused, a light flush on his freckled cheeks, light eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

“Armitage—”

But Kylo can’t find any words to explain himself, to explain to such a frail and sensitive boy what’s going to happen to him.

He decides lying is in the boy’s best interest.

“Are we going home now?” Armitage asks, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

A lump builds up in Kylo’s throat. He swallows it down.

“Soon. There’s something we’ve got to do first. It’s alright. You’re going to be alright.”

But Armitage seemingly doubt him as his eyes fill with tears, lip quivering.

“Please don’t send me away. Please. Ren. I want to stay with you.”

Kylo’s hold on his own tears weakens as he feels his eyes brim. He takes hold of the boy in a tight hug, cradling him close, kissing the top of his head.

“You’re not going anywhere, Armitage. I promise. I promise I’m not sending you away. I’ll take care of you, I will, but you have to do this. I’m sorry. You have to.”

Armitage sniffles. “O-okay.”

Kylo feels his heart aching as he lifts Armitage into his arms, cradling him on his hip for the very last time. Armitage is cold, shivering in Kylo’s arms, but he supposes he may be more fearful than freezing. He takes tentative steps towards the altar, the pale stone looking coarse and cold.

‘ _You can’t do this,’_ Kylo’s heart tells him. ‘ _You love him. He makes you strong. You make **him** strong. You need him. Don’t do this.’_

 _‘You have to do this,’_ Kylo’s mind tells him. ‘ _Don’t make the boy grow up again. The galaxy needs General Hux. Snoke has foreseen his role in wiping out the Light. The Starkiller. Let him become who he is destined to be. Let. Him. Go.’_

Kylo closes his eyes, placing one last gentle kiss atop Armitage’s head before he lays the boy down on top of the altar. Armitage makes a small frightened whimper as Kylo’s hands leave him, and Kylo can sense his fear rolling off his untamed aura in vicious waves, but Kylo feels almost overwhelmed by his own guilt.

Kylo takes no notice of Atlan, who’s grunting and groaning as he stands up, positioning himself at the foot of the altar, raising his hands out in front of him.

“Ssh,” Kylo hushes when he sees tears in Armitage’s eyes. “It’s okay. Keep looking at me.”

Kylo kneels down next to the altar, taking gentle hold of one of Armitage’s small hands.

“I’m scared, Ren.”

“I know, Armie,” Kylo says softly. “But one day, you won’t be. You’re going to grow so tall and so strong.”

Armitage’s eyes light up. “I-I am?”

Kylo smiles, nods. “You’re going to do great things, Armitage. You’ll have your own ship. Your crew will follow you because they know how strong you are. You’ll prove your Father wrong. You’re going to be so much better than him, Hux. You already are.”

Only when he’s used the General’s preferred name does Kylo realise what he’s said but he knows it doesn’t matter. If it were _Hux_ lying in front of him instead of _Armitage,_ Kylo has no doubts that he’d tell him the exact same thing.

Atlan’s deep voice suddenly fills the air of the temple, his arms raised to the sky, to the gap in the ceiling where the moon of Dromund Kaas watches them. He speaks in the native Sith language, tongue wrapping around the tricky pronunciations.

_‘Sunus. Suaukes. Raiskus. Tha Verztis. Pagalufona. Rausvas. Amzius. Vikuotin. **Atiduo**.’_

Kylo doesn’t take his eyes off Armitage, keeping their gazes locked, silently apologising for what Armitage is about to go through. Kylo hopes with every ounce of his being that it won’t be painful.

“You’ll be fine,” Kylo says, voice trembling. “Armitage, look at me. You’re going to be incredible. Remember that. Please.”

“Will you be with me, Ren?”

Kylo feels a single, devastating tear slip from his eye and down his cheek.

“ _Yes_. If that’s what you want. I will. I promise.”

The Force crackles around them, and Kylo flinches as he feels the air becoming heavy, thick with an invisible darkness that’s honing in on little Armitage. Atlan repeats the words as the power grows around them, in Standard this time, though the sound of his voice is drowned out as Kylo chooses to focus on the peaceful sounds of Armitage’s breathing.

_‘Boy. Adult. Power. The Force. Aftermath. Red. Age. General. **Return**.’_

As soon as Atlan utters the final word of the spell, the chamber is engulfed in total darkness, even the moonlight seems to dim. Kylo finds a groan of pain being pulled from his own throat as the Force fluctuates around him in a manner he’s never felt before, as though it’s a ghost passing straight through his body, chilling his core, spiking his heartbeat.

‘ _I’m not going to leave you, Armitage,’_ Kylo thinks, the thought echoing around his mind, hoping it’ll be the last thing that the boy hears before he’s returned to his _rightful_ body.

As the darkness fades back into light, Kylo lifts his head up and opens his eyes, sighing as he sees General Hux lying atop the altar, taking the place of the boy who’d become Kylo’s world. Kylo notes his hand is still grasping Hux's, still remembering how small Armitage'/ hand had felt only moments ago. Hux is still wearing the same green jumper and soft black trousers that little Armitage was, and it only reminds Kylo of his loss.

But strangely, Kylo thinks, seeing Hux’s face hasn’t ignited the usual twinge of annoyance as it usually does. Instead, he reaches out and touches Hux’s cheek, lightly glazing his fingers up to Hux’s red hair, brushing wayward strands back into place. Kylo had previously assumed that at some point during his youth, Hux must’ve grown out of his freckles, but from this proximity, Kylo can see a faint sprinkle of freckles cascading over Hux’s cheeks and nose, extremely faint but ever present.

Kylo likes them.

A gentle moan from Atlan distracts Kylo momentarily to look over to see his _ex_ -knight collapsed in a broken heap on the floor, blood trickling from his nose.

Armitage has been his priority recently, and that isn’t going to chance now.

Wiping the stray tears away from his cheeks, Kylo gives Hux one last check over, finding his pulse normal and his breathing even, before gently sliding his hands under the General’s shoulders and knees, lifting him into his arms with ease.

The last time that he had carried Hux out of this temple, Kylo remembers thinking that the grace in which he was holding Hux was something that the General didn’t deserve, that his subordinates would surely laugh at him for his thin and lithe frame. But as Kylo casts the fallen rocks away from the doorway with the Force, he can’t help but think he’d _maim_ any being who’d have the audacity to insult Hux’s body by calling him _weak_ or _too thin,_ now that he knows the reasons behind Hux’s cold front, behind his withdrawal, behind him wearing his uniform like a suit of armour.

Kylo thinks of little Ben and he thinks of little Armitage, the possibility of them finding solace in one another’s solitary hearts during their burdened childhoods. And Kylo _understands._ And he _promises._

Armitage Hux will never be lonely again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this being a relatively short chapter in comparison to some of the others of this fic! But I had the chapters planned out and I sorta thought that the reversing of the ritual needed its own chapter!
> 
> One chapter to go! ...Is Hux going to remember what Kylo has done for him? Or are they just going to go back to hating one another?
> 
> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as Hux is in the capable hands of the _Finalizer’s_ medical team, Kylo hurries back to his own quarters, desperate to be alone. Closing his door behind him, he exhales slowly, leaning back against it, hoping that being away from Hux will help him overcome the overwhelming grief that’s settled in the hollow centre of his chest. He breathes heavily, feeling better for a brief second before his tired gaze lays upon Armitage’s toys and clothes still strewn about Kylo’s quarters as though the boy still lives here.

Kylo rubs his palms down his face, closing his eyes, hoping to wipe away his feelings. He’s sure that he can still _feel_ Armitage’s presence around him. Kylo’s mind wanders to find the boy’s consciousness to latch onto, to check whether he’s _safe,_ whether he’s had another nightmare about his father like he had done almost consistently for the entirety of the time that Armitage was here. But Kylo gasps when he finds himself connecting to Hux’s mind, like a unique key that will only fit _one_ lock, sensing that the General is awake in the medical bay, being told by the doctors that he’s being discharged to his own quarters for further rest. Kylo pulls away from Hux’s consciousness quickly, throwing his mental shields up as another barrier to protect himself from the General’s obnoxious mind.

‘ _It’s not the same,’_ Kylo thinks, rubbing his temples. ‘ _He’s not Armitage. He’s not. He’s not the same.’_

Kylo shrugs his long, outer robe off, leaving him in just his black undershirt and soft black trousers. He palms at his neck, realising he must’ve left his cowl in the temple when he’d given it to Armitage, knowing how much the boy liked using it as a blanket, but it’s irrelevant, he decides; pieces of clothing hold no sentimental value.

His mind suddenly repaints the image of Armitage lying cold and still on the stone altar, shivering, wanting Kylo to take him _home._ But Atlan’s voice had been strong, reciting the words that would take the boy away and replace him with the man who has been the burden of Kylo’s existence since they had met.

_Atlan._

Kylo blames himself. Betrayal from such a close _ally_ hurts more than he’d anticipated, and especially an ally who’d sworn his power to the Knights of Ren, to _follow_ the knight’s master through the darkest of times. But Atlan had relinquished his position as one of Kylo’s knights when he chose to go _rogue_ , to seek power that would transcend any realm the Knights of Ren have interest in.

Atlan is _not_ one of Kylo’s knights. Therefore, abandoning him to die a slow death from his wounds is giving Kylo no feelings of guilt in the slightest. Though, he reminds himself to contact Eon to inform her of Atlan’s demise. She’d been close with him; Kylo is sure the girl has felt her companion’s betrayal.

Deciding that having Armitage’s possessions around him is doing him more bad than good, Kylo begins to tidy, using the Force to grab the boy’s clothes and toys that are around his room, not wanting to feel them beneath his own fingertips, throwing it all back into the box that Dr Vanda had delivered to him on the second day of Armitage’s stay. Once it’s all back in and out of his sight, Kylo grunts, kicking the full box away from him, hearing it smack against the sofa, things rattling inside from the impact.

But even with no trace of Armitage left in Kylo’s room, the hole in his chest is still filled with sadness, _it still hurts._

As Kylo stands with his fists clenched in the middle of his quarters, he realises how empty it feels without the splashes of colour from Armitage’s toys surrounding him. No crayons on the table, no pyjamas on his bed, no books on the couch. He feels a withdrawal growing, feeling the need to just _see_ the things that had meant so much to Armitage for the short time he was here. Kylo scuttles over to the box, sitting down next to it with his legs crossed, and dips his hand inside.

Armitage’s toy Star Destroyer is what he pulls out first, and Kylo immediately pictures the boy cradling it close to his chest, believing that it could protect him from harm.

 _‘If only,’_ Kylo thinks. He smooths his finger over its plastic ridges, knowing that little Armitage would’ve never imagined himself in command of a ship like this, with a loyal crew who will follow his every order without question because they believe in _him_ and his skills. He wonders if Hux _knows._  

Kylo sets the toy down and reaches back into the box, pulling out a handful of Armitage’s drawings, all brightly coloured and neat. He flicks through the small stack of paper that he’d stuffed into the box only moments ago, his heart beating wildly as he finds a drawing he hasn’t seen before.

Armitage has drawn himself and Kylo, labelled appropriately as ‘ _me’_ and ‘ _Ren’_ with arrows above their heads to make sure there aren’t any misunderstandings about their identity, despite Armitage having coloured his own hair in bright orange and made Kylo’s figure tall and coloured his clothes in black. They’re both standing next to a big house, walls shaded red and the door blue. The grass is a bright green, yellow flowers growing all around the house and around Armitage’s and Kylo’s feet, the orange sun high in the sky in the corner of the page. And suddenly, Kylo remembers.

_“What are you drawing?” Kylo asks, continuing his own colouring in._

_“A house,” Armitage says without taking his eyes off of his paper. “I want to have a house when I grow up. A house with lots of toys and a big garden where it's always warm.”_

There’s something odd about knowing that this is the life that Armitage had wanted, a warm house on a bright planet with someone who _cares_ about him, yet the reality is that he lives on a cold ship in the middle of a war, feeling the fear of failure looming over him throughout every second of his day, with no one to care for him.

“I’m sorry,” Kylo says aloud, unsure of what he’s apologising for, but feeling the desperate need to.

The sound of metallic knuckles knocking on his door distracts Kylo, though he merely frowns at the door.

“Sir. It’s Phasma,” comes the voice from behind the door, and Kylo can tell by her tone that she isn’t wearing her helmet.

“I’m busy,” Kylo replies, keeping his gaze on Armitage’s drawing. “Go away.”

Phasma sighs. “It’s about Armitage.”

Kylo finally looks up, wondering what Phasma could possibly want to talk about now that the boy is gone. With a wave of his hand so he doesn’t have to get up from where he’s sitting with his back against the sofa, Kylo opens the door and Phasma steps in, helmet held in the crook of her arm.

“I’ve just been to see him,” she says, no cape on her shoulders. Kylo recalls how she’d given it to Armitage to wear. “He remembers _everything,_ Ren.”

Kylo feels a chill spread across his skin, prickling his hairs until they’re standing on end, making him want to shiver. _‘Everything’_ means Hux knows how Kylo had cuddled Armitage after his nightmares, how Kylo had read him stories every night, how Kylo had kissed his head and clung onto him tightly before laying him atop the altar in the temple.

‘ _Everything’_ means Hux knows how compromised Kylo became in the boy’s presence.

“He’s asking to see you,” Phasma says. “He’s in his private rooms. The medics said he’s sustained no permanent damage—”

“You _said_ it was about Armitage,” Kylo interrupts, displeased.

“I _did._ And it _is_. _Armitage_ is sat in his quarters waiting for you to go and see him. You wouldn’t have refused to go to him before so why now?” Phasma says, her back rigidly straight, her tone sharp as though addressing an awkward subordinate rather than her obnoxious superior.

“ _Because_ that’s not him!” Kylo shouts, gritting his teeth, standing up angrily, Armitage’s drawing clutched tightly in his trembling fingers. “ _General Hux_ despises me, and I, him. _He_ is _not_ the boy I’ve been taking care of. He’s…”

But Kylo’s words fall away before he can being insulting Hux, calling him _weak_ or _pathetic_ like he used to do, because he knows that’s not what he believes anymore, that’s not what’s true.

Hux is _strong. Capable_. A man wanting to be cared for and _held,_ just like Armitage had wanted.

And he’s waiting for Kylo.

“Fine,” he huffs, giving one last look to Armitage’s drawing of the pair of them before putting it back in the box, closing the lid before Phasma has a chance to look inside.

Before Phasma can utter anything cocky about how _soft_ Kylo has turned, he grabs his outer robe and leaves his quarters, sweeping past her with heavy and quick steps that grow slower and more apprehensive the closer he gets to Hux’s quarters.

Suddenly afraid to look into the eyes that he’s come to adore, Kylo exhales slowly, trying to rein his emotions in and back under his control. But he struggles; Hux isn’t the same man that Kylo had known _before_ the ritual. Previously, Kylo had believed that Hux had the upbringing of any child with an Imperialist parent; pampering, being put on a pedestal, aided through school to achieve the best grades with the gentle help of tutors. It’s the harsh realisation that Hux was _forced_ through the academy at such a young age, indoctrinated and manipulated into his father’s way of thinking, bullied and _abused_ into believing he’s weak, giving him an unnatural desire to _prove himself_ in every task he takes on regardless of how monumentally impossible it seems.

Kylo wonders whether instead of carrying around a toy Star Destroyer for protection, Armitage now wears a greatcoat.

Coming to an abrupt halt outside of Hux’s quarters, Kylo lifts his hand to knock but hesitates, holding his clenched fist in mid-air, dropping his gaze to the floor.

What’s he supposed to _say_ to Hux? _‘I allowed you to compromise me to the point where I could think of nothing else but your protection but now you’re **you** again, we’re going to go back to being at one another’s throats and I don’t want that. I care, Hux. I do. I understand, stop hiding. Stop trying to live in your father’s shadow. You’re a better man than he ever was. Don’t believe anything he ever told you. He’s a liar. You’re not weak. **You’re not weak.** Please. Armitage.’ _

Kylo breathes slowly, deciding to keep his answers as short and as blunt as possible, pushing away any thought that’s telling him to do the opposite.

With two tentative knocks, Kylo rasps his knuckles against the door, and waits.

He hears the soft padding sounds of footsteps approaching the door and suddenly, Kylo’s instincts are telling him to run, to dart away from the door and avoid Hux for as long as possible, until all memory of this has blown over.

The door slides open before Kylo has a chance to move, and Hux stands before him in black sweatpants and a dark grey shirt, the items of clothing that little Armitage had been wearing when Kylo had first found him hiding behind the bed in Hux’s quarters.

Hux seems to stutter at first, parting his lips, though a breath of air merely escapes, his eyes widening as he and Kylo stand opposite each other in silence.

“Ren. I didn’t think you’d come,” Hux says, and there’s a softness to his voice that Kylo has never heard before; it doesn’t spike Kylo’s pulse into annoyance, it doesn’t grate against Kylo’s skull.

Hux’s voice soothes him.

“Mm,” Kylo grunts in response, his gaze trailing anywhere but to Hux’s face. He doesn’t want to see Hux’s green eyes or his light spritz of freckles or even his bright red hair. It’s too much, Kylo thinks. Hux is suddenly too much like Armitage, and it _hurts._

“I think we should talk,” Hux says, stepping aside to allow Kylo passage into his private rooms.

Kylo hesitates, feeling as though he’d be walking straight into a predator’s den if he even takes one step forward, but his feet are moving before he’s convinced himself that this is a terrible idea, plodding into Hux’s rooms with tense shoulders.

The door slides closed, leaving the two alone.

“Phasma told me that you remember everything,” Kylo says, his back still turned to Hux.

Hux hesitates. “Yes.”

“ _Everything?”_

More hesitation. “ _Yes.”_

Kylo blinks slowly, his fists clenching in nervousness. 

The silence is deeply unsettling, thick and potent around them like an unwanted smell, lingering where it isn’t wanted. Kylo can _feel_ the anxiety rolling off of Hux’s aura in tsunami-like waves, threatening to make him dizzy if he focuses too hard on the General’s growing unease.

“I…asked you here because I wanted to thank you,” Hux says, his teeth gritted as though the words are paining him to say. Kylo can tell that he feels awkward. “For what you did for me. _Him.”_

Kylo closes his eyes, hearing Armitage’s laughs in his mind, thinking of the boy sitting upon his shoulders, his fingers entwined in Kylo’s hair.

“It was nothing,” Kylo replies, voice dull, void of emotion. “If that’s all, General.”

He turns quickly, keeping his gaze directed towards the floor, and paces quickly towards the door, wanting to leave, _wanting to be alone._

“Is that _it?”_ Hux exclaims, recoiling as Kylo strides past him. “That’s all you’re going to say? You’re just going to mumble and grunt at me as though _nothing_ has happened and then _leave?”_

Kylo halts, shoulders hunched up as though trying to protect himself against the sharpness of Hux tone.

He doesn’t reply.

“I should’ve known,” Hux huffs. “I should’ve known that none of that was for me. You didn’t really care about him. He was just another game to you, a new toy to play with. A _burden._ You’re no better than your filthy traitor of a Knight. Everything we went through and you’ve got nothing to say. You’re _just_ like my father, caring only about yourself—”

“Stop it!” Kylo shouts, turning back around on his heels, fists clenched, eyes watering though no tears fall.

His anger is rising, but it’s not strong enough to overcome the devastating grief in his chest that he feels for the loss of Armitage. Though it isn’t _just_ that now. It isn’t _just_ the _loss_ of the little redhead that’s hurting Kylo; it’s the loss of Hux’s childhood. The Armitage that Kylo has come to _love_ is merely an echo of the boy who grows up to be the man standing in front of him, a tiny fraction of his suffering and torment compared to an entire childhood _lost_ and _neglected_ and _worthless_ feelings that have mixed together to create the enigmatic concoction of fear inside Hux’s heart.

And Hux believes that he’s only got himself to blame.

“What do you _want_ me to say, Hux?” Kylo growls, his tone no calmer, still powerful with grief. He recalls the words he’d created in his mind before he’d entered Hux’s quarters, and finds them creeping up his throat, desperate to be said, _needing_ to be heard.   _“_ That I _allowed_ you to compromise me to the point where I could think of nothing else but your protection? But now that you’re _you_ again, we’re going to go back to being at one another’s throats and I don’t want that. I care, Hux. I do. I understand, stop hiding. Stop trying to live in your father’s shadow. You’re a better man than he ever was. Don’t believe anything he ever told you. He’s a liar. You’re not weak. _You are not weak, Armitage_.’

Kylo breathes hard, Hux's name feeling like honey on his tongue, tasting pleasant, making him want to say it again and _again_ until it breaks through Hux’s cold exterior.

" _Armitage_." 

And for the first time since they'd met, Kylo sees a softness in Hux's expression that's so innocent that, for a moment, Kylo is worried that the ritual is having an effect on his age again. But Hux stands still, eyes desperately sad, fingers twitching at his sides as though physically craving to touch _skin_.

It’s as though, somehow, the General wears his uniform as battle armour, protecting himself against enemies and criticism with sharp words and a cold sneer, strategically layered outfits with razor-sharp quips that could reduce even the finest officers to blubbering messes of apologies. But remove his uniform, remove him from the high-stress environment of a Star Destroyer bridge and he suddenly becomes the little Armitage that Kylo has grown so fond of; soft eyes, bright hair, a mantra of _please don’t leave me alone_ being repeated over and over again in his untamed mind.

Hux’s hands are suddenly entwining themselves in the hem of his shirt, fingers twisting in the grey material, and it’s _now_ that Kylo realises that little Armitage isn’t gone. He’s standing in front of him, clutching his shirt, silently pleading to be cared for.

“Did you truly care?” Hux asks, looking up at Kylo. “About _him?”_

“You _know_ I did. You can feel it,” Kylo replies, brushing the edges of Hux’s mind out of habit, finding his consciousness wrapped around memories of him climbing on Kylo’s shoulders whilst he was attempting to meditate, of him clinging onto Kylo’s robes when he’d woken from a nightmare.

Hux exhales sharply though his nose, eyes lost in thought, sparkling as though it’s the first time anyone has told him that he’s _worth_ caring about.

“You made him feel special, you know,” Hux says, looking at the floor, reluctantly smiling. “Like he wasn’t just something for his father to use for his own gain. He could _play,_ laugh, without feeling like he was doing something wrong.”

Kylo blinks, feeling a chill run down his spine.

“What you told me,” Kylo begins, suddenly refusing to treat the situation as though little Armitage and Hux are two separate people. “About your father. Your mother. Your _Nanny._ Not being able to play with toys, about being called weak. That’s all _true_?”

Hux hesitates. “Yes. Everything I told you whilst I was… _young,_ is true. But I…regret _everything_ , Ren. You know so much about my past. More than anyone should.”

"Why?” Kylo frowns.

“Because we’re _enemies,_ aren’t we? You’re going to use it against me, tattle to the Supreme Leader about how _weak_ I am, about how _compromised_ I am by you—” But Hux stops suddenly, clamping his lips shut, folding his arms across his chest. “Nothing. Just. I know how much you despise me, and having such knowledge about my _pressure points,_ so to speak, isn’t good for my career.”

Kylo turns his nose up, though Hux’s aura doesn’t match his expression. Hux looks _angry,_ disinterested even, but Kylo can feel the sadness and the fear radiating from the core of his soul, crying out for warmth.

“Maybe I was wrong,” Kylo huffs. “Maybe your father was right about you.”

Hux falters. “Wh-what?”

“Maybe you _are_ weak,” Kylo spits, leering in towards Hux, looking down his nose. “Maybe having your childhood taken away from you was what a bastard child needed to learn his place. A cold droid was what a useless _boy_ like Armitage needed to teach him some strength. _Maybe you deserved it—”_

Kylo’s words are halted by the back of Hux’s hand colliding with his cheek, smacking him into silence. He keeps his head bowed, feeling the brunt of Hux’s raw anger electrify the air around them.

“I didn’t deserve it!” Hux shouts, _seething,_ fists clenched as he towers over Kylo. “I’m not weak, I’ve accomplished more than Brendol Hux ever did. He’s buried six foot under, _rotting,_ whilst I’m still fighting, still carrying _my_ name into legend. Not his name, _mine._ I didn’t deserve any of it!”

Kylo looks up at Hux through the parting of his hair, seeing tears in Hux’s eyes, his copper hair stray and out of place.

“I know you didn’t, Armitage.”

Hux’s eyes widen, a tear dripping down his pale and freckled cheek as his fists relax. Kylo stares back at him, standing back up to his full height, hiding the stinging pain on his face from where Hux had backhanded him.

And suddenly, Hux’s trembling hand is reaching up to Kylo’s face, palm twisting, opening, to place itself on Kylo’s cheek. The other takes its place on Kylo’s other cheek, being gentle on the reddening skin. And Kylo sees the innocence back in Hux’s green eyes, in _Armitage’s_ eyes; the intense curiosity and deep admiration, cascading together in an intense mix.

When Hux pats his palms lightly against Kylo’s cheeks, Kylo feels his heart jump.

“Ren,” Hux whispers, imagining himself as a boy, wondering how much different he’d be if he’d had a warm soul like Kylo’s to cling on to during the coldest of his nightmares.

Kylo looks down, studying Hux’s face, imagining the sorrow that must’ve filled Hux’s childhood, the heartache and fear that overshadowed his every move, amplified by his lack of _love._

“I understand,” Kylo says. _“I understand.”_

Hux exhales slowly, sliding his palms down from Kylo’s blushing cheeks to grip onto the front of Kylo’s robes. With the slowest and smallest of movements, Hux closes the gap between their bodies, snuggling himself against Kylo’s chest, cheek against his shoulder. Kylo’s arms encircle him gentle, holding him.

It doesn’t feel strange, Kylo thinks; it doesn’t feel any different from when he’d held little Armitage countless times, cradling him, _comforting him._ It’d been what Armitage had needed, and it would seem as though it’s what Hux needs.

“Ren?” Hux says.

“Mm?

“Will you…stay with me?”

Kylo smiles. “If that’s what you want. _Yes.”_

For the first time since little Armitage’s regrowth, Kylo feels the hole in his chest rid itself of the powerful grief, filling his soul with a warm contentment that he never wants to allow to leave him.

And as Hux clings on tightly to Kylo’s robes as one would a lifeline, that any slip of grip would mean _drowning,_ Kylo has a suspicion that Hux is feeling the same spread of affection engulfing them, tying their solitary hearts together with a piece of invisible string; bright, _strong, **resilient.**_

Just like Armitage.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤️ THE END ❤️
> 
> I did have a plan to add a scene at the end where Kylo comes back from a mission with a little ginger kitten in his hands, a red bow around her neck, exactly like the one that Brendol had killed, and gives her to Hux...and Hux cries, remembering how he'd felt watching his father kill his first _friend._ But I decided to not include that because I liked ending the entire fic with Hux clinging onto Kylo like he'd done when he was a boy. 
> 
> ALSO check out [this absolutely adorable piece of artwork](http://solohux.tumblr.com/post/152785010994/soaring-in-the-wind-ok-the-important-part-is) of baby Armie touching Kylo's face by [@soaring-in-the-wind.](http://soaring-in-the-wind.tumblr.com/post/152784780884/ok-the-important-part-is-already-written-on-the) It's so perfect and I'm screaming again. THANK YOU! ❤️
> 
> But yeah! All finished! I'm really really thankful if you've stuck with this fic since the beginning or you've read through it **all**! It means A LOT ❤️  
>  Your support means everything to me and I would have definitely stopped writing kylux fanfiction by now if it wasn't for the kind words that you guys send me on tumblr and in the comments. ❤️
> 
> So thank you SO MUCH for reading! Come talk to me on tumblr too, if you want! It's [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


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